


Peter tells Erik

by WandaRavenBlack



Category: Marvel, X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Awkwardness, Birthday, Birthday Party, Crying, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Friendship, Kleptomania, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2018-09-22 07:07:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 28,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9590039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WandaRavenBlack/pseuds/WandaRavenBlack
Summary: Erik notices that something is going on with Peter. He tries to talk with the others about it but the younger X-Men don't seem to notice anything, Charles and Hank won't tell him anything, and Raven simply stares at him until he changes the subject. What is going on with the boy? Erik is dead set on finding out.UPDATES ON 00.00 CET BETWEEN FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.





	1. He's Changed

Erik had noticed the changes almost immediately. He still remembered when the silver haired boy broke him out of the Pentagon. He had been so confident back then. Even Erik was worried when the guards came in. But the boy had been smiling all the time. He remembered the ride to the airport when the boy had been using his superspeed to pull Wolverine’s hair. But now, when he was looking at the boy, he saw the change clearly. Peter was sitting still, which itself was strange. He was watching Nightcrawler and Cyclops play chess and shuffling cards in his hands. Raven was sitting next to him, reading a book but Erik had known her enough to know that she was keeping an eye on the boy next to him. Peter glanced over to Jean and Ororo who were sitting and flipping through some magazines. He even opened his mouth but then shook his head and turned his eyes back to the chess game. Erik suddenly understood. The boy wanted to play but it seemed that he was either too shy or too unsure. But none of the characteristics really fit to the boy that he remembered. He slowly stood up, went over to the couch that the boy was sitting on and asked:

“You play?” 

Peter’s head snapped up so he pointed at the cards. After a few seconds of hesitation, the boy nodded. Erik waved his hand in the direction of a round table. 

“Come on. Let’s play a bit.” 

Peter glanced over to Raven who was staring at them. She quickly shook her head. 

“Nope. Not happening. I’m so not playing with him. He always wins.” 

The boy actually smiled a bit at that. He stood up and went over to the table in normal speed. Erik looked to Raven but she just glared at him, daring him to say anything. He shrugged and turned to Hank and Charles who had just gotten inside. It was still odd, seeing Charles without any hair. 

“Hank, Charles. Me and Peter are going to play cards. You want to join us?” 

_ ‘Come on Charles. Don’t say no.’ _ The telepath raised one eyebrow hearing Erik’s voice in his head. He wheeled closer to the table and smiled. 

“Of course. It’s been awhile since I played cards last time.” 

Hank nodded. 

“Sure. Why not?” 

Peter sat down while Erik moved a chair away so that Charles could put his wheelchair in it’s place. Hank sat down leaving the only chair empty next to Peter. Erik sat down there and asked:

“What are we playing?” 

Peter started to shuffle the cards again. Hank shrugged. 

“Poker?” 

That made Charles frown. 

“Poker? Gambling in school? I’m not…” 

“Come on rich boy. Live a little.” 

Charles eyes widened. 

“What did you just call me? Oh, bring it on Lehnsherr.” 

_ ‘Don’t be mad Charles. He’s smiling again. Just play.’ _ Charles sent him an amused look but didn’t say anything. Peter glanced over to the telepath. The man smiled at him and nodded. 

“Deal out Peter. Let’s show mr Lehnsherr over there that a rich boy can play poker.” 

Peter started to deal out cards but kept his movements in normal speed. Charles and Hank exchanged glances but none of them spoke up. It soon turned out that Charles was a rather good player. So good that Erik accused him of cheating and reading their minds a few times. But however good he was, he couldn’t beat Peter. The boy was somehow winning every single hand. The candy, that they had used instead of money, was growing on his side. Erik noticed how Raven, although she was still reading, kept an eye on Peter as if she was afraid to let him out of his sight. Suddenly Ororo and Jean came over to the table. The girls sat down, one on each side of Peter, and leaned in to look at his cards.  _ ‘He looks like a real gambler now. I think the girls like him pretty much.’ _ Charles chuckled while Jean blushed. Erik’s eyes widened. He had forgotten that she was a telepath too. He glanced from her to Peter and was a bit shocked when he noticed that the boy was staring straight at him. A second later, Peter was looking down at the cards again. And it worried Erik. Because it should be impossible for him to catch the speedster doing something. The boy could move faster than sound. Suddenly Peter laid his cards down and stood up. 

“Thank you for the game. I’m tired. I think I’m going to go to bed.” 

And before they could say anything, he left the room. Still at normal speed. Erik turned to Charles. 

“What is going on with him?” 

Charles frowned. 

“I have no idea what you are talking about Erik.” 

And before Erik could say anything he turned to Hank and asked:

“Hank, would you mind following me to my room. I would like to give you the medical reports that I’ve gathered from everyone.” 

Hank nodded and stood up. 

“Of course.” 

And they left. Ororo and Jean, most probably feeling odd sitting alone with Erik, stood up too and went over to Kurt and Scott.

“You guys done? Who won?” 

Scott made an annoyed face when Kurt answered that he won seven times. A few minutes later they said their goodnights and left. Erik went over to Raven. 

“Come on. Talk. What is going on with Peter?” 

She looked up from her book. 

“Why do you care?” 

Erik was taken by surprise. Because honestly? He had no idea why he suddenly was so interested in the boy. He shrugged. Raven rolled her eyes and said with a calm voice:

“Come back to me when you figure it out.” 

Then she went back to reading her book. Erik clenched his hand in frustration and all the metal in the room shook. He calmed himself down and went out. He was going to get to the bottom of this Quicksilver mystery. Even if he would have to do it without any help from the others. There was something about the boy that he was drawn to. Maybe it was the eyes. Nina’s eyes had been very like them. Big, brown. But Nina’s eyes had been so innocent. Peter’s eyes held pain and experiences far beyond what anyone his age should go through. Erik still remembered the look in the boy’s eyes when Apocalypse had pulled his head back to bare his throat. The boy had given up. He had been ready to make a sacrifice of his own life, to buy the others some time. Just as Raven had done. She had gone in to save Peter even though she knew that the possibility that she would get killed was big. Just as Hank had jumped into the fight to get those two away from the fire even though he could easily had died there. Because yes, Jean, Erik, Storm and Cyclops were the ones that destroyed Apocalypse. But in the end, the real heroes were the ones that went into the fight knowing that the chance of coming out again was small. Erik admired that in them. Especially Peter. Raven and Hank had fought in Cuba. Both had been through things in their lives that made them ready for the final battle. But Peter wasn’t trained. He was just a speedster. Once his speed was taken away from him, he was like a normal human. And still he fought. Suddenly Erik noticed that he had walked over to the speedster’s room. He looked around. No one was anywhere close to him. He felt an urge to go in and see if the boy was okay. But then he thought better. He was a mutant terrorist. He had been one of Apocalypse's horsemen. Of course the boy wouldn’t want to talk to him about his problems. He turned around and went to his own room. He would have to press Charles into telling him more about the boy. And he had to figure out why he suddenly felt so protective over the boy. He hadn’t felt that feeling ever since Nina died. He was a bit worried that it was maybe his brain acting up. Maybe he was simply trying to fill the hole that had been left by Nina, and for some reason his mind chose Peter.  _ ‘Charles? What are you not telling me?’ _ He had to wait around five minutes before the telepath answered.  _ ‘My apologies for taking so long. I was talking with Hank. And I have no idea what you are talking about Erik.’  _ Erik grunted. He wanted to go and smash something from the frustration that had gathered up inside him.  _ ‘About Peter. You know something Charles. Why won’t you tell me? What is going on with him? Why has he changed so much?’ _ Once again he had to wait a few minutes before Charles answered.  _ ‘I’m afraid I can’t answer those questions. But why are you so interested in what is going on with Peter?’  _ Erik rolled his eyes. So Charles had been talking to Rave before he answered. Which meant that something was going on.  _ ‘I’m just worried Charles. He is acting weird. I mean, I don’t know him that well, but even I noticed that he has changed since the fight.’  _ This time Charles answer came immediately which meant that it was really his answer and not something that Rave had told him to say.  _ ‘Peter more or less lost his power when Apocalypse broke his leg. You of all people should know what it feels like to be without your power, when you are used to using it almost all the time.’  _ Yes. Erik knew how it was. Awful. Painful. Scary. But still, something didn’t add up.  _ ‘But he isn’t using his powers anymore. Shouldn’t he want to use them even more now?’  _ It was quiet for so long that Erik thought that Raven had told Charles to stop talking to him. But then an answer came.  _ ‘Honestly? I don’t know. I don’t understand that either. And I can’t get into Peter’s mind. Not that I would do that without his permission. But it’s moving too fast. I get a headache if I even try. Maybe you should talk to him about it? You can relate to him. I gave up my power willingly to walk back then. You had your powers taken against your will. Maybe he will talk to you.’ ‘And this is coming from you or Raven?’  _ He heard Charles chuckle in his mind.  _ ‘From me. Raven said that it would be a bad idea to send you after Peter. She is very protective when it comes to that boy.’  _ Erik nodded. That, she was. For some odd reason. He slowly undressed and laid down in bed. He would talk to Peter tomorrow. If Raven didn’t kill him first for trying. 


	2. Did They Love You?

Erik woke up in the middle of the night. At first he didn’t understand why.  The mansion was quiet, he didn’t have any nightmares and it wasn’t Charles or Jean projecting their dreams again. He laid still when he suddenly heard it. Soft crying, almost muffled, as if the person who was crying didn’t want anyone to hear him. But having a child made Erik more sensitive to that. He remembered that he was the one who always woke up when Nina was sick and crying. It was like a ‘cry radar’. He slowly stood up and went out to the hall. The sound was coming from a room on the same floor. He was a bit surprised since he had been almost one hundred percent certain that no one had taken the empty rooms on his floor. There were no students in the school since it was summer. The X-Men were the only one’s in the mansion and they had made sure to keep away from Erik. Not that he blamed them. He quietly approached one of the half open doors. He hid in the shadows and looked inside. What he saw, shocked him. Raven was sitting on the bed in her human form. Peter was lying down with his face pressed to her stomach while his hands rested on her knees. He was crying and mumbling while she stroked his long hair. 

“Shhh. It’s alright. It’s gonna be alright.” 

He shook all over. 

“I was too late. I couldn’t save her. And he… I couldn’t go faster. I was too slow. Why am I always too slow?” 

Raven leaned back so that she was resting against the headboard and pulled the boy with him so that his head was resting on her chest. 

“You’re not too slow Peter. There was no way you could have known about what they were going to do.” 

“I couldn’t save her. What good am I if I can’t even help people? I’m not an X-Man. I don’t deserve this power. I just wish I could give it to someone that will use it for something good.” 

Raven sighed. 

“I was a thief when I was a child.” 

Peter looked up at her. She nodded. 

“Yeah. No one accepted me because I looked like this.” 

She shifted to her blue form but the boy didn’t even flinch.

“My parents threw me out. I started to hate the way I looked. I was just a child. I didn’t really understand things. I tried to scrub the color off of me.” 

The speedsters eyes widened. Erik felt shocked too. Raven had never told him that. He doubted even Charles knew about that. 

“Yeah. And then, when I was in pain, I was found by an old mutant. His skin was green. He told me to never doubt that there is a reason behind who I am. There is a plan for all people. He also told me that when everything goes wrong I should be stubborn and go right.” 

Peter smiled at that.

“He had humour.” 

Raven nodded. 

“Yeah. I never saw him again. A few weeks later I met Charles. And my life changed.” 

Suddenly the boy looked away from her. 

“Why are you telling me this?” 

Mystique took his face in her hands and gently turned it to her. 

“You are worth your powers Peter. Just think about how much you’ve done. You saved Erik from the prison. You saved Erik, Charles and Wolverine when they were being shot at. You saved a whole school of mutants from being blown up. You went against Apocalypse himself. Not many would do that.” 

Peter closed his eyes. 

“But I couldn’t save her.” 

Raven just pulled him closer to her and started to hum a soft melody. Erik turned around and headed straight to the elevator. He wanted answers. And he wanted them now. Even if that meant he would have to strap Charles to the chair and hang him upside down. He took the elevator down and went into Charles room without knocking. The telepath was asleep so, with one hand movement, he put all the lights on by pulling all the metal switches at the same time. Charles sat up with shock written all over his face.

“Wha…? Erik?” 

Magneto strode over to the bed and stood over the telepath. The thought that he didn’t have his helmet on crossed his mind but he ignored it. 

“Did Peter have a girlfriend before the Apocalypse fight?” 

Charles looked even more confused. 

“What? What are you doing here Erik? And in the middle of the night!” 

But he wouldn’t let this happen again. 

“Don’t try with me Xavier. I want answers. Did he or did he not?” 

The telepath sighed. 

“From what I know, he didn’t. He told Raven once that no girl could keep up with him. People that move at normal pace annoy him. But what is going on with you and Peter? I haven’t seen you so worried about anyone in a long time.” 

Now it was Erik’s turn to sigh. He sat down on the bed and shrugged. 

“Honestly Charles, I don’t know.” 

And then, before he could stop himself, he told Charles about everything that he had seen in Peter’s room. Charles frowned. 

“He said that the nightmares had stopped.” 

Erik’s head snapped over to him. 

“Wait a second. You knew that he was having nightmares?” 

The telepath sighed. 

“Yes. I knew. Me and Raven have done our best to be there for him when he is having nightmares. But he assured me that the nightmares had stopped.” 

Erik threw his hands up in frustration. 

“Just stopped. You know that nightmares don’t ‘just stop’.” 

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Then Charles laid down again and gave Erik a small smile. 

“Go to bed Erik. I need sleep. I had a rough night yesterday. Jean was having nightmares and I was up with her to calm her down. I would love to get at least a few hours of sleep tonight.” 

Erik knew when Charles had said the last word. And he also understood that, for some odd reason, Charles didn’t want to talk to him about Peter. He stood up and left the room, turning the lights off on his way out. He didn’t know what to do. Charles wouldn’t talk. Raven would rather throw him out through a window than tell him something about Peter. The younger X-Men didn’t seem to notice what was going on. That left Hank. He was ready to go all mutant terrorist on the furry man when he suddenly heard a voice behind him. 

“Why don’t you just talk with Peter about that?” 

He turned around and came face to face with Jean. She was looking at him with a calm expression that only a telepath could have. Before he could answer she started to talk again. 

“I’m sorry sir. I didn’t mean to read your mind but you were thinking very loudly.” 

He raised his eyebrows. 

“And may I ask what you are doing down here miss Grey? At this hour.” 

Jean shrugged. 

“I couldn’t sleep and thought that I would talk to the professor.” 

Erik put a hand on her shoulder and started to lead her back to the elevator. 

“Charles is sleeping. If you want I could make you some hot chocolate. Maybe that would help you a bit.” 

Jean stared at him for a long moment before she nodded. 

“That would be really nice mr Lehnsherr.” 

They took the elevator down to the kitchen. But just as they stepped out Jean grabbed her head. 

“Miss Grey? Jean!” 

She shook all over and pointed to the kitchen. Erik hesitated but decided to leave her there and rushed over to the kitchen door. He opened it and was shocked by what he saw. Peter was sitting on the table. Around him were five empty whiskey bottles. The sixth was in his hand. Erik took a step towards him. 

“Peter. Put that away.” 

The boy looked over to him and shook his head. 

“You are drunk Peter.” 

Another head shake. 

“I wish I was. I wish I could get drunk. Maybe I could forget then.” 

Erik glanced behind him. Jean was still holding her head. He quickly went back to her and led her back into the elevator. 

“Can you do me a favor?” 

The girl nodded. 

“Go to Hank’s room and wake him up. Ask him to come down to the kitchen. And ask him about some sleeping pills. It might help you. I know that Charles had some when he was younger.” 

Jean nodded again and went into the elevator. Erik turned back to the kitchen. Peter had now finished the sixth bottle and had taken a seventh out of somewhere. Erik went closer to the table and tried to get the bottle but Peter quickly moved away. Very quickly. ‘At least he is using his mutation again.’ But right now, that didn’t matter so much. 

“Give me the bottle Peter.” 

The boy looked at him and shook his head. 

“Why would I? It’s not like I can get drunk. My metabolism is way too quick.” 

He opened the bottle and drank down almost half of the content in one go. Erik didn’t know what to do. The boy was too quick to simply let Erik snatch the bottle out of his hand. So he simply sat down on one of the chairs. 

“You wanna talk?” 

Peter frowned. 

“Talk? About what?” 

“The reason why you are drinking.” 

The boy shook his head furiously. He clunked the rest of the drink down and disappeared. A second later he reappeared with a new bottle in his hand. A bottle with a metal cap. Erik used it to pull the bottle out of the boy’s hand. Peter stared at him and smiled sadly. 

“Did your parents love you?” 

Erik was shocked by that question. He thought back to his parents. His wonderful parents. 

“Yes. They did.” 

Then after a moment he added:

“Why are you asking?” 

Peter closed his eyes. 

“My mother is tired of me. She never says anything but I know. She is an occasional drunk. She hates the fact that I’m a mutant.” 

Erik felt sadness. How many times had he heard that story? That was like the normal background for most of the mutants. 

“And your father?” 

Peter’s features became even sadder. 

“He’s a mutant. He doesn’t know that I even exist. Mom left him when she found out that he is a mutant. She was freaked out. Hoped that I would be normal. Then I came out with silver hair. And she knew.” 

Erik tilted his head. 

“Have you tried to talk to your father? If he is a mutant he will most probably not hate you.” 

But the boy just shook his head. 

“I can’t tell him. He’s been through things in life. I can’t burden him with a son that he would most probably think was a failure.” 

Before Erik could answer, the door opened and Hank stepped inside. 

“Jean said that… Oh! Peter! What is this supposed to mean?!” 

He turned his face towards Erik. 

“Did you give him all this?” 

The man felt almost offended. Just almost, since he still remembered that time when Hank found him trying to get Charles properly drunk. 

“Of course not. I found him like this. Would you mind checking him? He said that his metabolism is too fast for him to get drunk but I would like to be on the safe side and not find him with alcohol poisoning tomorrow.”

The blue scientist nodded and moved closer to the table. 

“Come on Peter. Let’s go. I’ll help you to bed as soon as I’ve examined you.” 

Peter followed him slowly. In the doorway he turned around and asked quietly:

“Can I talk to you later? Like tomorrow?” 

Erik nodded. 

“Of course Peter.” 

The boy nodded and left with Hank. Erik turned to the table and started to clean up the bottles. An alcoholic mother who told him that she had left his father when she found out that he was a mutant. A father who he never knew. No wonder that the boy was messed up. He thought back to Nina. She had been a mutant. But she had been loved. He wondered what the boy wanted to talk to him about. But he knew that he would listen. The boy needed someone to listen. And maybe, if he buried himself in others problems, he would manage to stop thinking about Nina all the time. 


	3. Two Surprises

Peter slept through the rest of the night without any nightmares. Erik had gotten up a few times to check on him. It was yet another thing he had always done with Nina. When the morning came, he went downstairs to the kitchen and started to prepare breakfast for everyone. When they had gotten back, Charles had put up schedules for everyone’s chores. Raven, Erik and Jean had been put on meals. Erik, who was always up first, decided to take the breakfasts. He decided on pancakes. It had been a success before, especially with the younger kids. The first ones to arrive were Scott and Kurt. They nodded to Erik but didn’t say anything as they sat down. He moved the pancakes over to the table and sat down himself. Ororo and Jean came in a few seconds later. It took another ten minutes before Charles wheeled inside with Raven at his side. Half an hour later Hank came in. He looked extremely tired. 

“Are you alright Hank?” 

The blue genius turned his head to Charles and nodded. 

“Yeah. Just a bit tired. Have anyone seen Peter?” 

Erik nodded. 

“He’s still asleep. I checked on him a few times during the night and he slept every time.” 

Raven’s eyes widened. 

“You were up tonight?” 

Erik nodded and had to duck when she threw a fork at him. 

“You asshole! You eavesdropped right?!” 

She shifted to her blue form and the younger X-Men noticed that she was getting mad. They quickly left the kitchen without even thanking for the breakfast. Erik avoided two more forks before he managed to grab her wrists and hold her still. 

“Raven. Raven! Calm down. I woke up when I heard him crying. I didn’t know that you would tell him your secrets. I was just going to see if he was alright.” 

“And why do you suddenly care? You can’t just replace your daughter with him!” 

She froze as soon as she said that. Hank and Charles held their breath. Erik felt as if someone had punched him. Memories of Nina crashed into him like a train. He slowly let go of her wrists and simply left the kitchen. He went out. He needed air. Just as he was coming out, a phone rang. He stopped and just listened to the ringing. A whole minute passed and the phone was still ringing. That was when Charles wheeled into the hall. He got to the phone and answered.

“Xavier’s institute for gifted youngsters, this is Charles Xavier.” 

Raven and Hank went into the hall but stopped when they noticed Erik. Meanwhile, Charles was frowning. 

“Yes, of course. But can I get your name?” 

He listened for a few more seconds.

“Alright. I’ll just ask him to come to the phone.” 

He pushed a button on his chair and said into a small microphone that appeared:

“Peter. Would you mind coming down to the phone near the front entrance? There is someone that wants to talk to you.” 

His voice sounded in every room. A few seconds later Peter stopped next to the professor. He was in his usual silver clothes with hair sticking in every way possible. He picked up the phone with a quick movement. 

“Yeah. It’s Peter.” 

A few seconds later his eyes widened. 

“Remy? How did you get this number? What? Wait, I’ll put you on the speaker.” 

He put the phone on the table and started to comb his hair. 

“Alright. Speak.” 

A voice with a heavy cajun accent was heard.

“You sure? Or do you want me to wait some more?” 

Peter snorted. 

“Just talk, cajun.” 

“As you wish. I got this number from a little girl. She… What? Mon Dieu. Non, I will NOT let you braid my hair. Non, petite. Just… Alright. Be happy that this thief has a soft spot for you. Right. Where were I? The girl. You know that I’ve been gambling all over the country right?” 

Peter rolled his eyes at that. Erik was watching him with interest. He seemed to feel a bit better. Erik really hoped that it wasn’t because of the alcohol because he didn’t want to find the boy in the same state as he was in the previous night. 

“Of course I know that. I’m surprised that there are even people out there that want to play with you.” 

“Well that’s just it. There aren’t. So Remy figured out that he had to disappear for some time. I went to Poland. There, in some small village, I started to gamble. Some of the men there spoke english. Then, when I had won and was going to leave, one of the men finally connected my eyes  flashing purple with being a mutant. I have to admit that it took them quite some time. I didn’t want to make a scene so I let them catch me. They put me in a cell together with a little girl. The kid couldn’t be more than nine. What? Alright petite. My apologies. She’ll turn ten this year. She spoke english but in the beginning her story was a bit shaky. Ow! Braid the hair not drag it out petite. That hurt. As I said, I didn’t really get her story in the beginning. But when she said that her wounds healed, I finally understood. I’ve been around Creed enough to know the signs of a feral. It all added up. Kid could speak to animals and had a healing factor that would have many other ferals jealous. From what I got, she was shot and died, but as soon as they took the arrow out, she started to heal. And she was lucky that they hadn’t buried her immediately. She doesn’t seem to have claws, animal teeth or fur but from what I understood, Creed didn’t get his claws until he turned 13. So she still has time. I knew that she couldn’t stay in that cell so I got us out. I tried to find out if she had some mutant family that I could contact but she didn’t seem to know more than the fact that her father is a mutant and his name is Erik. That didn’t tell me much. Then I remembered you talking about that school. I figured that maybe someone there could help her. So I came back to America just in time to hear about the Apocalypse raising. I wanted to help but knew that I had to keep her safe. So I went back to Louisiana and hid with some cajuns that I knew wouldn’t hurt us for being mutants. When Apocalypse was down I tried to call the school but got no answer. Then I noticed the news about the school being rebuilt and decided to wait. Yesterday, I went to your mother’s house but she told me that you were living at the school now. It was the middle of the night so I didn’t want to wake you up. It’s enough that your mom yelled at me for coming so late. So I took the kid to a motel. And the first thing I did in the morning was calling you.” 

Everyone were staring at the phone. Erik was shaking. Peter looked as if he had seen a ghost. Raven, Hank and Charles were frozen still. The first one that recovered was Charles. He wheeled over to the phone again and spoke up.

“This is Charles Xavier again. Peter is a bit shocked right now. Could you tell me what the child’s name is?” 

“Her name is Nina but I call her Sparrow. It’s the name we’ve been using in case someone came looking for her. And it’s easier to get around with a mutant name around here.” 

Charles looked over to Erik and Peter. They were still shocked. Both looked as if they were going to cry any second. 

“Listen, was it Remy?” 

“Oui.” 

“Alright. Listen Remy. I need you to take the girl to the school. Her father is here. His name is Erik Lehnsherr. You can check it with her if you don’t believe me. The address is…” 

A snort was heard through the phone. 

“I don’t need any addresses to find places. I’ll get there in a few hours. Sparrow needs to eat before we leave. And I need to get my hair in order again. Is Peter fine?” 

Charles glanced over to the boy. He was shaking in a speed that made him blurry to the others. Erik had tears in his eyes. 

“We’ll take care of Peter. Just get Nina here.” 

Remy sighed. 

“As you wish. We’ll be there in a few hours.” 

The call disconnected. Raven slowly went over to Peter. 

“Pete? Can you slow down? Please.” 

After a few seconds Peter stopped. He turned to Erik and slowly started to talk. 

“I need to talk to you. Now. Before they come here. I need to tell you something. Please.” 

Erik’s eyes slowly focused on the boy. He wanted to say no. He wanted to say that he needed some time alone. But when he saw the boy’s pleading eyes, he nodded. Without saying anything else they all got into the elevator and rode down to Charles study. The professor wheeled in behind the desk. Raven sat down on the armrest of the couch that Hank sat down in. Erik chose one of the chairs while Peter remained standing. 

“What was it you wanted to talk about?” 

Erik tried to keep his voice calm to make the nervous boy more comfortable. He still couldn’t wrap his brain around the fact that Nina was alive. But he figured out that what the boy had to say was very important if he had so much trouble saying it. After a few seconds Peter quietly said:

“My mother’s name is Marya Maximoff.” 

Erik’s heart skipped a beat. It couldn’t be true. It just had to be impossible. 

“You are…” 

“Your son. I just figured that I had to tell you. I know you would never want me as your son but I just wanted you to know so that you didn’t have to wonder why I reacted like that to the news about Nina.” 

One thing in that statement made Erik stand up and walked over to the boy. He put a hand on his shoulder and used the other hand to raise his head so that they were looking straight into each other's eyes. 

“Don’t you ever dare to say again that I wouldn’t want you as a son. I know that I’m most probably not the perfect father. I’ve done things in my life that I’m ashamed of. But if you would give me a chance I would love to be your father for real.” 

Then he sighed and added:

“Believe me Peter. If I had known that Marya was pregnant back then, I would have came back. Even if she wouldn’t want me to live with you, I would still visit. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not being there for you when you grew up.” 

Before he knew what was happening, Peter had thrown himself forward and hugged him. Erik put his arms about the boy and hugged him back. Peter was his son. Nina was alive. He was almost afraid that this was just a dream and that he would wake up any second. But then he heard Charles in his head and realized that this was not a dream. His children were alive.  _ ‘You are not alone Erik. You have more family than you know.’  _ That made him remember the day of the fight. What Peter had started to say before he changed it to him being there for his family. He remembered Peter’s comment about his mother knowing someone who could control metal. That was ten years earlier. Erik suddenly started to wonder how long the boy had known that his father was a terrorist. He glanced over to Charles.  _ ‘No more Charles. If I ever do anything that could hurt my children, I want you to lock me up somewhere.’  _ The telepath just smiled.  _ ‘You’ll be okay. All of you. Don’t worry.’  _


	4. Nina and Remy

The whole day had gone through but Remy hadn’t showed up with Nina. Erik had been irritated and wanted to go look for them but Peter had told him to calm down every time. He trusted the cajun and said that if Nina was with him, then she was perfectly safe, because Remy would never let anything happen to a child. The other X-Men had been told about what was happening. Scott and Kurt had been completely shocked to find out that Erik was Peter’s father and that there was a little girl in that family too. Ororo was keeping close to Peter who was getting those little energy bursts that made him run a few laps around the mansion and then crash into something on his way in. He was seemingly excited. Erik tried to talk to him but it was almost impossible with the speeds that the boy was moving in. He was also moving Ororo with him every time he changed rooms. Shortly after lunch, Jean and Ororo had managed to stop Peter long enough to tell him what they needed from the shop and then send him away. They had started to ready a room for the little girl together with Erik who after all knew her best. Peter had came back from the shop a few minutes later and dumped everything the girls needed on the big bed that Jean had levitated into the room. Hearing Erik’s question about how he managed to pay for all that in just a few minutes, Peter just smirked and whooshed out of there. Charles and Raven were trying to get some information together about Remy but whoever they called, always said that they don’t want to talk about him. The only person who said something was a young gambler from New Orleans who told them to keep away from the cajun because he was dangerous. That made them a bit worried but Raven said that they should trust Peter. Hank had dragged Scott and Kurt with him to the medical bay to help him get everything in place so that he was totally set up. The day passed and it started to get dark. Raven, deciding that they couldn’t wait anymore with the food, readied the dinner and just as they sat down to start eating, a knock was heard. Everyone’s heads snapped over to the window where they saw a tall man with shoulder long brown hair and warm brown eyes. He was holding a bo staff in one hand. The other hand was out of view. He smirked and Peter was next to the big glassdoor a second later. He opened it and the man went inside. Holding his hand was a little girl. She was clothed in what looked like a too big white, men's t-shirt with a black leather strap wrapped around her middle. She was barefoot but didn’t seem to be bothered by that. Her long brown hair was brushed neatly and she had a black bandana around her head. Attached to the bandana was a big white feather. She was holding the man’s hand in a tight grip. Erik stood up from his seat. 

“Nina. Baby.” 

The girl noticed him and smiled. 

“Papa!” 

She rushed over to Erik who had crouched down and hugged him. Peter was just staring at her. Meanwhile, Charles rolled over to the newcomer. 

“Welcome. I’m Charles Xavier.” 

The man looked him up and down before he answered:

“Remy LeBeau.” 

Peter turned to him. 

“Thank you.” 

Remy nodded. 

“I’ll be going then.” 

Peter’s hand shot out and he grabbed the man’s wrist. 

“You can stay. We have enough place in the mansion.” 

The man smiled. 

“Non. This is your life Peter. Not mine.” 

He turned away from them when Nina let go of Erik and ran back to the cajun. 

“Where are you going?” 

Remy sighed and crouched down. 

“I’m leaving now, petite. You’re safe here with your pere. I won’t intrude onto your lives.” 

The girl pouted. She grabbed his hair and pulled it. 

“You’ll stay.” 

He raised his eyebrows. 

“That an order, petite?” 

She nodded and he sighed. 

“D’accord. I’ll stay. If that’s alright with monsieur Xavier.” 

Charles nodded quickly. 

“Of course Remy. We have many empty rooms now that we don’t have any students here. You can choose which one you want.” 

Remy stood up and looked around to the others. His eyes stopped on Raven, who was in her blonde form, and he smirked. She rolled her eyes and turned to Hank. That was when Erik came over to them and crouched next to Nina. 

“Nina, darling. There is something I need to say to you. Peter, the boy with the silver hair, is your big brother.” 

Nina looked at Peter. She hesitated for a moment, but then went over to him and stuck her hand out. He grabbed it and smiled. 

“I’m Peter but they call me Quicksilver.” 

“Nina. Remy and the cajuns called me Sparrow.” 

Peter’s smile widened. 

“It’s a nice name.” 

Erik stood up and turned to Remy. 

“Thank you.” 

The cajun just nodded. That was when Raven decided that her food was not going to get cold. 

“Alright. Sit down everyone. The food is getting cold. Cajun. There are plates over the sink. Get two for yourself and Nina. And put that staff away before you sit down.” 

Remy smiled with amusement. 

“This cajun just came here and he’s already ordered around.” 

Charles opened his mouth to say something but before he managed to do that, Remy put the bo staff away and went over to the cabinet. 

“Nina, go take a seat.” 

He pulled two plates out and stilled. 

“Merde. I’m sorry. I’m just so used to us being alone.” 

Erik smiled. He understood what the man meant. And he had brought his little girl back to him and kept her safe through the whole Apocalypse mess. He couldn’t get mad over something so small. Remy put the plates on the table and sat down between Peter and Nina. Everyone started to get their food except for the cajun. He put food on Nina’s plate but didn’t make any moves to put anything on his own. Peter rolled his eyes. 

“Just eat Remy. We have enough of everything here to feed a whole army. Hank is eating like a beast. No offense.” 

The blue doctor rolled his eyes and turned back to Raven. Erik looked down at his daughter's clothes and tilted his head.

“Where did you get those clothes?” 

Nina swallowed her food quickly and started to talk while swinging her legs in the air under the table. 

“Those men in Poland were scared of me so they tried to beat me up. That was before Remy got thrown in there with me. My clothes got ripped up. When Remy got me out of there, we didn’t have any clothes and he said that we couldn’t travel with me looking like that because he would get arrested for abuse. So he got a clean shirt from a shop and gave it to me. He had a black leather strap in one of his pockets and he said I could use it as a belt. And my feet don’t hurt when I walk without shoes. And if I step on something I just heal. Remy says I’m something called a fa… fe…” 

“Feral, petite. You’re a feral mutant.” 

She nodded and smiled to him before she turned back to Erik. 

“Those mutants are like animals. But we don’t know which animal I’m like yet because I haven’t gotten any claws or teeth yet. But I will get it.” 

Erik raised his eyebrows and looked up to the cajun.

“Are you really sure?” 

The cajun nodded. 

“Trust me. I’ve been around a feral before. I know all the signs. And Sparrow has all of them. Except for the teeth, claws and eyes. Although not all ferals have animal eyes. Neither do all of them have claws or teeth. The Furry Blue over there, has all of them and some fur as an extra. Victor had teeth and claws but didn’t have the eyes. Sally, a feral I ran into once, had cat eyes but didn’t have the teeth or claws. All of them have healing factors, strengthened senses and are much stronger than ordinary mutants. Sparrow has all the signs. Except of the animal parts.” 

Nina suddenly yawned and Jean smiled. 

“Me and Ororo readied a room for you Nina. Would you like to see it?” 

The little girl nodded and stretched her arms out to Remy. 

“Carry me.” 

He rolled his eyes but stood up and picked her up. He put her on his hip and she put her head on his shoulder. Jean smiled at that image and stood up too. She and Ororo left the room with the cajun and the little girl. Before they went outside Nina turned her head and waved her hand. 

“Good night papa.”

Erik smiled at her. 

“Good night sweetie.” 

And they left. Hank stood up and left too, along with Raven who seemed to be thinking about something. Scott and Kurt left immediately after them. Peter said a quick good night and sped out of there. Erik sighed and Charles raised one eyebrow. 

“What is it Erik? Something is bothering you.” 

Erik nodded slowly. 

“The cajun. The way he is acting with Nina. And the way she is acting with him.” 

The telepath sighed. 

“He isn’t trying to take your place in her life Erik. You heard him. He was ready to go away as soon as he left her here. And don’t worry about Nina. She loves you and is very happy to have you back.” 

“Then why is she so close to him?!” 

Charles rolled his eyes. 

“Lower your voice Erik. Your daughter loves you. But Remy saved her life. She feels safe with him.” 

He then wheeled over to the door. 

“Everything will be alright. You’ll see.” 

And he left. Erik slowly stood up. He decided to go to Nina’s room before he did anything else. Then he would go talk with the cajun. He happened to glance over to Peter’s plate and noticed that the boy had barely eaten anything. So he would have to talk to him too. He sighed. What was going on with the boy?


	5. Beauty And The Beast

Erik walked slowly upstairs. Nina’s room was close to his own and the one that Peter had been sleeping in last night. As soon as he got close to the room, he heard Nina’s giggles. He crept closer to the partly open door and peeked inside. Nina was in the bed, writhing around. Remy was standing over her with his hands on her sides. Erik was going to rush inside when he realized that the cajun wasn’t doing anything bad. He was simply tickling her. She managed to kick him and wriggle out of his grasp. A second later, she was on his back, with her hands around his throat. He smiled. 

“Alright, petite. You win.” 

She laughed and jumped back onto the bed. He sat down on the edge and helped her untie the leather strap from around her waist. He put it on the chair along with her bandana and the feather. 

“Now, sleep.” 

Nina shook her head. 

“Sing.” 

The cajun groaned. 

“Come on, Sparrow. Remy can’t sing to you every night.” 

She smiled widely. 

“If you don’t sing, I won’t sleep.” 

He stared at her for a long moment before he finally gave in. 

“Just one song. Then you’ll sleep.” 

“Maybe.” 

He rolled his eyes and started to sing with his thick cajun accent. 

_ “A long time ago, in a story so old _

_ There was a Beauty and a Beast, or so I’ve been told”  _

Erik let out the breath he had been holding. Beauty and the Beast wasn’t a bad story. 

_ “They were these two strangers, two lonely souls _

_ But it’s not what you think, no, here’s how it goes:  _

_ Let’s start with the Beast, he was ugly and scary  _

_ Pathetic and poor, and horribly hairy _

_ The outside was rough, but once he smiled  _

_ You could see that he had a heart of gold inside”  _

Erik smiled when he noticed how Nina got comfortable under the sheets. But still, there was something odd with the song. It didn’t fully feel like a traditional tale. He decided to wait and step in if he thought that it was getting too dark for his little girl. 

_ “The Beast loved a Beauty, this pretty little thing  _

_ She was the fairest of them all, and she could dance and sing  _

_ But unlike the Beast, whose love shined the best  _

_ She loved herself, never cared for the rest…”  _

Erik frowned. That was definitely not the traditional take on the tale. But when he noticed Nina’s smile, he decided to wait. And Remy had now gone over to french. 

_ “Oh la Belle et la B _ _ ête  _ (Oh Beauty and the Beast)

_ Quelle tragédie  _ (Such a tragedy)

_ Elle est comme le jour  _ (She’s like day)

_ Il est comme la nuit  _ (He’s like night)

_ Il est amoureux  _ (He’s in love)

_ Elle ne se soucie pas  _ (She doesn’t care)

_ Vont-ils mourir tout seule?  _ (Will they die all alone?)

_ On verra.”  _ (We’ll see.)

Erik partly understood what he was singing, but he had to admit that he had never been good at french. It was more Charles’ part. Or maybe it was about the odd accent that the cajun had. He didn’t have to worry for long because the song went back to english. 

_ “One day the Beast found the Beauty ‘perfection’ _

_ Sitting by the lake, making love to her reflection _

_ The Beast then decided that it was the time _

_ To tell the pretty Beauty of his feelings inside _

_ He stepped out from the shades with a flower in hand _

_ Said bravely: ‘My lady, the fairest in this land,  _

_ I might not be a prince, but my heart beats for you!’  _

_ Oh the Beauty just laughed, so cold, so cruel”  _

Erik’s eyes widened. Where was the song going? But Nina was almost hypnotized. 

_ “‘You smelly old fat hairy pig’, she said  _

_ ‘You thought I could love you? I’d rather be dead!’  _

_ Still laughing she turned and danced to her home  _

_ Leaving the Beast, heart-broken and all alone…  _

_ Oh la Belle et la  _ _ Bête  _ (Oh Beauty and the Beast)

_ Quelle tragédie  _ (Such a tragedy)

_ Elle est comme le jour  _ (She’s like day)

_ Il est comme la nuit  _ (He’s like night)

_ Il est amoureux  _ (He’s in love)

_ Mais elle s’en fout  _ (But she doesn’t give a damn)

_ Qui sera content  _ (Who is going to be happy)

_ Aprés tout?  _ (In the end?)

He lowered his voice a bit when he noticed that Nina’s eyes were slowly closing. 

_ “While the Beauty lives all by herself still today _

_ The Beast learned his lesson and changed his ways _

_ He found that true beauty cannot be seen _

_ And that things are most likely not what they seem…” _

He started to hum the melody and kept doing it until Nina’s eyes closed and her breath evened out. Then he sighed and said, without turning around: 

“I’m not trying to replace you.” 

Erik was a bit shocked. How had the young man noticed him? And how long had he known about him standing there? As if sensing what he wanted to ask, the cajun answered:

“I’m a thief. You can’t sneak up on me. And you’re relying very much on the metal around you. It keeps you grounded. But it also makes your steps more heavy.” 

He stood up and went out of the room, closing the door. 

“I’ve heard much about you, Magneto.” 

Something in the cajun’s eyes told him that he was not mad at him. 

“Bad or good?” 

A small smile. 

“It depends who I was talking to. But you aren’t the only person in this building with a dark background. As to Nina… I’m not trying to take your place in her life. I know you are afraid of that. She loves you. You should hear her when she is talking about you. I might have saved her, but you are the true hero in her eyes. So don’t worry.” 

He started to walk away from him but Erik stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. 

“Wait.” 

Remy turned back to him. 

“I’m sorry for thinking that you would…” 

His eyes widened. 

“You thought I would do THAT to her? I’m not… I would never do that!” 

Erik nodded. 

“I know. Now, I know. But I need to talk to you about something.” 

“Peter.” 

The metal bender nodded. He wasn’t going to question the fact that Remy seemed to know every little thing he was going to talk about. 

“Yes. He had nightmares last night. I heard him talking about not being able to save some girl and being too slow. I wouldn’t tell anyone about it but it seems that you and Peter are close.” 

Remy nodded slowly. 

“I’ve known Peter for some time. He is like a little brother to me. And as to his behavior… I can only speculate. Maybe you should talk to him. Or I could do it and tell you what he said.” 

Erik raised his eyebrows. 

“You would do that? What about keeping other people’s secrets?” 

The cajun shrugged. 

“You’re his family. And I would only tell you what you really needed to know, in order to help him.” 

He then stretched his arms up in the air and yawned. 

“Remy will go to bed now. Good luck.” 

And before Erik could comment on the sudden change to third person, Remy went away. Erik sighed and turned towards the room that Peter had been sleepin in last night. He slowly went over there and knocked. There was no answer and when he opened the door, the room was empty.  _ ‘Charles?’  _ He had to repeat his name a few times before the telepath finally answered.  _ ‘Yes? I’m sorry for taking such time. I was talking with Hank about a new medicine.’  _ Erik rolled his eyes. Of course Hank was coming up with new medicines. Again.  _ ‘Do you know where Peter is? I need to talk to him.’  _ A few seconds later, Charles answered with hesitation.  _ ‘I’m not sure, but I think I’m getting some thoughts from outside. Try it. Everyone else has gone to bed. It could be Remy, but I can’t really get into his head. He has some kind of barrier in his mind. So I guess it’s Peter out there.’ ‘Thanks.’  _ He walked to the elevator and took it to the bottom floor. Just as he was stepping out through the door, a silver flash, whooshed past him. 

“Peter?” 

The boy stopped next to him less than a second later. 

“Yeah?” 

“Can we talk?” 

Peter’s eyebrows rose. 

“About what?” 

His voice was suspicious and Erik understood that he had to be careful or the boy would take off and he would lose his chance. 

“Let’s go inside. Sit down somewhere. Maybe the living room?” 

Peter nodded but didn’t say anything. As they headed inside again, Erik noticed that the boy looked tired. Extremely tired. 


	6. I'm Alive

They sat in the living room in silence. Peter looked very nervous but didn’t try to run away which Erik appreciated. He knew that this talk would be, more or less, on the boy’s terms. If Peter didn’t want to talk he could just run away. And Erik wouldn’t be able to stop him. 

“I wanted to talk to you about last night.” 

Peter tilted his head. 

“You mean the talk when I was drunk? It was the alcohol speaking. It’s alright.” 

That wasn’t what he had wanted to talk about but it would be a good start. 

“However, I would like to talk to you.” 

He waited until the boy nodded, before he started to talk again. 

“You said that your mother is tired of you.” 

Peter shrugged. 

“Yeah. I mean, she is a wonderful mother. But she is also an alcoholic. There are good and bad days. But I’m 26. She is tired of me still living in her basement and making cops come home to her all the time.” 

The man raised his eyebrows. 

“Cops?” 

Peter shrugged again. 

“I’m a kleptomaniac. Professor didn’t tell you?” 

Erik shook his head. 

“No. He didn’t.” 

Suddenly, the speedster looked very nervous. 

“Are you mad?” 

And when Erik looked at him, he didn’t see the 26 year old man who had been in a battle. He saw a boy, scared of his father’s disapproval. So he smiled and answered:

“Of course not. I was a terrorist and one of Apocalypse’s horsemen. I’m not going to get mad over something you don’t have any control over. Were you diagnosed?” 

“Yup. The police took me in one time, diagnosed me and then I ran away.” 

Erik noticed that Peter was getting more comfortable now so he decided to keep talking about unimportant subjects. 

“And Remy? How did you two meet?” 

The speedster burst out laughing. 

“Rems? Well, I was thirteen then. He was 19. There are six years between us. I had stolen a few things and managed to trip over my own feet when I was running away. It was when I had my growth spurt and I wasn’t really used to not being short. They put me in a cell. I was a bit scared because mom was always furious when I got caught. In the cell next to me was Remy. He was mad at all the cops because they had managed to catch him. I tried to destroy the cell door by vibrating but it didn’t work. That was when he realized that I am a mutant. He told me to go to the opposite corner of my cell and watch out for flying parts. I did so and watched. He took up a small stone, charged it and threw it at his door. It exploded. Then he picked the lock on my door and we were out. Mom told me to stay away from the house for some time, so Remy told me that I could stay with him. We lived from place to place until mom contacted me and said that the cops had stopped coming by and that I could come back. Remy took me home and left. We kept contact ever since then.” 

Erik frowned. 

“Is he a kleptomaniac too?” 

Peter quickly shook his head. 

“No, no. He’s just a thief. It’s his job. He steals and gambles to survive from day to day. He is the best out there when it comes to cards.” 

And that was something that Erik did not like. Peter had been hanging out with a thief. And so had Nina. And both his kids seemed to like the cajun a bit too much. He looked from Peter to the big clock in the corner. He didn’t concentrate on the time. He just needed something to look at while he was thinking. When he looked back to the boy, Peter was almost completely calm. So he decided to take up some of the more heavy things. 

“There was something else I wanted to talk to you about. Last night I woke up when you had the nightmare. I was going to go look what had happened and overheard you and Raven talking. Can we talk about that?” 

He noticed how Peter paled and started to fidget in his seat. Almost as if he wanted to run away. So he leaned forward a bit and said with a soothing voice. 

“Please Peter. I want to help you. But I can’t do that if you don’t talk to me.” 

It took a whole minute before the boy started to talk. His voice was quiet and slow, almost as if he was thinking every word through. 

“I’ve had these nightmares ever since Apocalypse. I tried to take sleeping pills but my metabolism burns them too quickly.” 

“And what are they about?” 

His question was careful. He didn’t want to scare the boy away. 

“I… I went to Poland. Before I came to the mansion. I was looking for you. I found the graves. I thought Nina was dead. And I didn’t get there in time.” 

Erik’s eyes widened. He was in shock. So the ‘she’ that Peter had been talking about wasn’t a girlfriend. It was Nina. He stood up, went over to Peter and sat down next to him. Peter hesitated, but then moved closer and leaned his head on Erik’s shoulder. And he started to talk again. 

“When Apocalypse captured me, I realized that without my speed, I’m ordinary. And I felt so helpless. Ever since then, I’ve had nightmares about Apocalypse killing Nina and standing over her. And I couldn’t move to help her. I couldn’t get there in time. I was too late. Every night, since the fight, I’ve been too late to save her. I’ve tried everything. I probably overdosed on the sleeping pills but as I said, my metabolism works too fast. I’ve tried drinking but it doesn’t help either. I tried to run until I drop but it didn’t work. I just ended up being tired and irritated. I just can’t get it to stop. And i don’t know how much longer I can stand it.” 

The man put his arm around the boy. His son. Just then, the door opened and Nina slowly went inside. She looked from Erik to Peter with big eyes. Then she came closer to them. Peter smiled softly when she climbed up onto his lap. 

“Don’t be sad, Petey. I’m not dead.” 

Erik was shocked. Nina, noticing that, smiled to him. 

“I was looking for Remy and I heard you from upstairs. I have very good hearing. Remy says that it’s because I’m a feral.” 

She then turned back to Peter. 

“You can sleep with me in my bed. So that you know I’m there.” 

Peter’s eyes widened. 

“Really?” 

She nodded and stood up. Her small hand grabbed Peter’s and she started to drag him out of the room. Erik stood up and followed his children with a small smile. He would have to talk to Peter about why he wasn’t eating more, especially since he had said more than once that his metabolism is much faster than any other human’s. Nina led Peter to her room and got into the bed. She then pulled the covers back and scooted over to one side. 

“Come on. Let’s sleep.” 

Peter became a silver blur and when he stopped again, he was clothed in sweatpants and a black t-shirt. He went into the bed and Nina moved closer to him. He hugged her close to him and Erik felt that he should leave. 

“Good night.” 

“Good night papa.” 

Peter took a deep breath, relaxed, and answered:

“Good night, dad.” 

The man turned around, shut the light off and went out. He went over to his bedroom with slow steps. He was tired. But as soon as he put the light on, he almost jumped. Automatically, he moved every sharp metal thing in his room, towards the person on his bed. Remy just raised his eyebrows and ducked to avoid the flying metal. 

“Really?” 

Erik gently put everything back to where it was from the beginning and Remy sat down on his bed again. 

“Is that how you treat all your guests?”

Erik huffed out an angry breath. 

“Only if they break into my room and scare the crap out of me.” 

The cajun smirked. 

“You talked to Peter?” 

A nod confirmed it. 

“Let me see if my theory is right. He is blaming himself for not being able to save Sparrow in time. He thinks he is too slow.” 

Another nod. 

“How did you…?” 

“How did I know? I got shot once, when he was living with me. Kid blamed himself for not being able to help me. It took me some time to make him understand that it hadn’t been his fault.” 

Erik looked the cajun up and down. This man seemed to treat both Peter and Nina like his small siblings. He decided that the man could be a good ally when the kids were troubled. 

“There is something more. About Peter.” 

Remy nodded to show that he was listening. 

“I don’t know if you noticed but today, when we were eating, he barely touched his food.” 

The cajun just sighed. 

“It wouldn’t be the first time. Peter has these periods when he refuses to eat. He feels bad for something that happened and gets in some kind of depressed state. It wouldn’t be dangerous if not for the fact that Peter needs more food than any normal mutant. His metabolism works so quickly that he usually has some protein bar with him wherever he goes so that he can eat it if he gets hungry.” 

Then he stood up and smiled. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of that. I’ve been through it with him before.” 

And he left without saying anything else. Erik sighed. Good ally or not, the cajun was far too mysterious for his liking. But he knew that he couldn’t really do anything more that night so he went to sleep. He would see how things went the next day. 


	7. Hair

The night had passed without any interruptions. When Erik looked inside Nina’s room, he saw his children sleeping. Nina had managed to steal the entire blanket and rolled up in it. She was laying across Peter while he was spread out across the entire bed. His hair was in a mess and his mouth was slightly open. He looked so peaceful, that Erik didn’t have the heart to wake them up. He closed the door again and headed downstairs. But as soon as he stepped into the kitchen, he stopped in shock. Remy was sitting on the counter and eating scrambled eggs. He seemed to be just as shocked to see Erik, as Erik was to see him. But he collected himself quickly and raised one eyebrow. 

“You already up?” 

Erik nodded and went over to the fridge to start preparing breakfast for everyone. 

“I’m always up at this time. Why are you up?” 

The cajun just shrugged. 

“I’m a thief. I wake up as soon as I hear a sound that doesn’t fit in. The redhead had a nightmare and was screaming. I decided that it wasn’t worth it to go back to sleep so I got breakfast.” 

Then he tilted his head a bit. 

“You served Apocalypse.” 

It wasn’t a question so he didn’t have to answer, but Erik nodded nonetheless. He was ashamed of what he had done. That didn’t mean that he would deny it. Remy slowly shook his head. 

“I’m not judging you, if that’s what you think. I made a deal with someone once. It wasn’t my best choice but I did it and I can’t change it. I would be a hypocrite if I judged others. Especially those that realized that their actions were wrong.” 

It was quiet until Jean and Ororo went inside with Scott and Kurt behind them. Remy smiled to them. Jean smiled back, but frowned a second later. 

“Excuse me, mr LeBeau…?” 

Remy rolled his eyes. 

“Please. Call me Remy. I feel like my pere when you call me mr LeBeau.” 

Jean nodded and started again. 

“Excuse me, Remy, but why can’t I hear your thoughts?” 

Erik got interested when he remembered what Charles had said the previous day about some kind of barrier in the cajun’s head. Remy looked uncomfortable for a moment before he put on a calm face again. 

“It’s one of my mutations.” 

Everyone’s eyes widened. 

“You have more than one?” 

He nodded while Jean suddenly smiled. 

“It’s not impossible. I’m a telepath but can move things with my mind.” 

“The walls in my mind, are something that I don’t have to even think about. They just are there. Of course, I could let someone inside my mind, and of course my walls could get broken. A very powerful telepath could do it.” 

Before she could say anything, Peter ran inside with Nina on his shoulders. She was dressed in jeans and a green t-shirt that Peter had bought her the day before. Remy smiled. 

“Sit down. The breakfast should be done soon. Right, Magneto?” 

Everyone froze when they heard him use that name. The cajun looked around. 

“What?” 

“My name is Erik Lehnsherr.” 

Remy slowly nodded his head. 

“Fine. It will be done soon. Right, Erik?” 

Peter and Scott chuckled. Remy jumped off the counter and headed towards Peter. 

“You’ll eat. Right, Silver?” 

They had a short staring contest and then Peter nodded. But instead of going to the table, he turned around towards the door. Just then Raven, Charles and Hank went inside. Before he managed to start running, Remy’s hand shot out and he grabbed Peter’s hair to keep him in the kitchen. But what happened next shocked everyone. Peter froze completely and panic appeared in his eyes. Then he spun around and punched Remy with so much force, that the cajun got thrown across the kitchen. To everyone's surprise and amazement, he spun around in the air so that his feet were the first thing that hit the wall. He used that to kick himself towards Peter again. Scott and Kurt quickly pulled Nina out of the way of the fighting mutants. Remy was going in for a hit. But the boy was ready. He landed another punch to Remy’s ribs and they all heard cracking, when his ribs broke. But he didn’t seem to care about that. He pulled out a card, charged it and lifted it threateningly. Peter stared at him for a long moment and then, suddenly, fell to the ground. Behind him, Jean was standing with her fingers to her head. 

“He’s asleep.” 

Her voice was shaky. Hank rushed over to Remy who had lowered his card and pulled the charge back. 

“Your ribs.” 

The cajun shook his head. 

“Leave it.” 

“But…” 

“I said LEAVE IT!” 

He then groaned and had to steady himself against the table. That didn’t stop him from walking over to Peter and kneeling next to him. Raven was already on his other side. She looked up at Remy and said with sudden understanding in her voice. 

“When Peter attacked Apocalypse, he broke his leg. Then he held him by the hair so that Psylocke could cut his throat. I was impersonating her then but Peter didn’t know that.” 

Remy nodded. 

“I grabbed his hair. That… Ahhhh.” 

He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to take a breath. 

“That makes sense.” 

Raven put her hand on his shoulder. 

“You need to go to the medical and let Hank see your ribs. And face. Peter put much force behind his punches.” 

Remy rolled his eyes. 

“I’ll be healed in a few hours. I just need to lay down for some time. Take care of Peter.” 

He stood up and slowly started to make his way to the door while Hank rushed over to Peter. Raven looked from Peter to Remy and then decided to follow the latter one. She put her hand around his waist and helped him to stand up as they went out of the kitchen. Meanwhile, Hank was taking Peters pulse. Erik rushed over to them while Scott and Kurt let Nina get out from behind them. She ran to her family and kneeled next to Peter’s head. 

“Hank? How is he? What’s going on?” 

The doctor sighed. 

“PTSD. How could I miss it? The nightmares, the changes in him. And now this.” 

He shook his head and looked up at Erik. 

“Could you carry him up to his room? It’s best if he wakes up somewhere where he feels safe.” 

Erik nodded. 

“Yeah. But I think it will be better if we carry him to Nina’s room. Since it seems that he doesn’t really have his own room.” 

He picked the boy up and went out, with Nina and Hank behind him. Charles wheeled over to Jean. 

“Jean? Are you alright?” 

She nodded and sat down. 

“Yes. My head is hurting a bit but I will be fine. It took quite much to get into his head.” 

The older telepath nodded. 

“I know. Peter’s mind is exceptionally quick. But he isn’t the only one that can block us here.” 

Jean glanced towards the ceiling. 

“No he isn’t.” 

Meanwhile, Charles turned to Scott and Kurt. 

“It was really quick thinking of you two when you moved Nina out of the way.” 

Scott shrugged while Kurt looked a bit intimidated. He still didn’t really know how to talk to the professor like the others were doing. Jean slowly stood up and went over to the counter where Erik had left the half made breakfast. 

“I’ll finish this and then we can eat.” 

Ororo stepped over to her and led her back to the chair. 

“You sit down, sister. Me and the boys will finish this. You just tell us what to do.” 

Charles smiled. He was happy that the X-Men were getting along so well. He glanced up to the ceiling. He just hoped that Peter and Remy would get better. 


	8. She Had To Protect The Others

Raven was amazed by the fact that Remy didn’t make a single sound while they were going upstairs. She led him over to the room that he had slept in the previous night and realized quickly that it was strategically placed as close to the balcony as possible. A clear escape route was visible there and she smiled. The thief seemed to think they would attack him in the night and that he would have to escape. His room also proved his readiness. Nothing had been unpacked. But then Raven remembered that when they arrived, neither Remy or Nina had any bags. He noticed her looking around and smiled a bit. 

“A thief never has unnecessary things. It just gets in the way.” 

She nodded and helped him over to the bed. He laid down with a grunt and closed his eyes. 

“Merci.” 

Raven hesitated a bit. She wasn’t sure if she should leave or stay with him and make sure that he was really alright. After a moment, she decided to stay. His eyes snapped open when she sat down on the edge of his bed. 

“You said you would heal.” 

He nodded slowly. 

“Part of my mutation lets me heal faster than others. It doesn’t come close to a feral’s healing factor but it’s quick. The ribs should take a few hours. Thankfully, he didn’t break my jaw.” 

Raven tilted her head. 

“You don’t seem bothered by the fact that your friend just beat you up.” 

The cajun tried to shrug but it was clear that he had trouble moving. 

“It wouldn’t be the first time Peter beats me up. His speed is dangerous and he sometimes forgets that it could hurt people. But he usually has control. So it’s nothing to really worry about.” 

He tried to take a deep breath, winced, and asked quietly:

“Why are you still here?” 

She shrugged. 

“I don’t know. I just wanted to make sure that you are fine.” 

Remy didn’t say anything so she stood up to leave. His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. 

“Non. Stay. Please. It’s nice to have something to concentrate on. Let’s talk.” 

She sat down again. 

“About what?” 

“You.” 

Raven rolled her eyes and he quickly continued. 

“You’re beautiful.” 

And suddenly, she felt irritated. Yeah, of course he did. It was the entire purpose with the look she chose. But if she showed him the other look… She quickly changed into her blue form. But if she thought that he would get disgusted, she was wrong. He smiled and said with a calm voice: 

“As I said. Beautiful.” 

She raised one eyebrow. He wasn’t afraid or disgusted. It was odd, but it felt nice to have someone touch her and not look at their hand immediately after to see if it had turned blue. She relaxed and his smile widened. But then he groaned and put his hand to his ribs. 

“Does it hurt very much?” 

He nodded slowly. 

“My bones are mending themselves. It’s bound to hurt.” 

He closed his eyes for a few seconds. And that was when she realized that his eyes were brown now. 

“Your eyes. They were purple when that card started to glow.” 

He nodded and opened his eyes. They flashed purple for a second and went back to normal. 

“That’s what happens when I use my power.” 

“And that is? I noticed the card glowing but I don’t really understand what it meant.” 

She had to wait a few seconds before he slowly reached his hand to one of his pockets and drew a card out. He charged it and threw it in the air where it exploded over their heads. 

“That was a smaller charge. I could blow this mansion up if I wanted to. The bad side of this power is that I have to touch the thing I want to charge. But enough about me. Tell me what happened with the Apocalypse.” 

As he said that, Raven felt the enormous need to tell him everything. She just had to do it. But after living with Charles for so long, she knew when someone was pushing their will upon her. So she took a deep breath and said slowly:

“Whatever you’re doing, stop it. I will tell you, it’s not like it’s some kind of secret. But I would appreciate it if you didn’t mess with my head.” 

For a second he looked genuinely surprised. A bit worried too. Then he frowned and closed his eyes. 

“Je suis désolé. Now when I’m hurt, I can’t really concentrate on not doing it.” 

Now it was Raven’s time to look surprised. 

“Doing what?” 

“It’s part of my mutation. I can force my will upon others if I want to. I suggest something, like ‘you want to give me a drink’, and they do it because they are convinced that it was their own thought. That they DO want to give me a drink. I usually have control over it but right now, I have to concentrate all of my power on healing so the other one is slipping. It’s a good thing that my walls don’t need to be kept up and just stay up without me thinking about them.” 

Raven’s mind was racing. Yes, she had heard about mutants with more than one mutation before. But from what he said, he was much more powerful than any of the others. And the fact that Charles had told her that he can’t get into the cajuns head. She looked over at him and noticed that he was keeping his eyes on her. Following every single movement. Almost as if he was prepared for an attack. Almost as if he didn’t trust her. 

“There are 13 Omega mutants.” 

She stopped at that, giving him an option to decide if he was going to trust her or not. His hand was still around her wrist and for a horrifying second she wondered if he could charge humans too. But then something in his eyes softened and he looked almost as if he had given up. 

“14. There are 14 Omega mutants. Just 13 are known about.” 

“Does anyone know?” 

He shook his head, hesitated and then nodded. 

“One person. No. One monster.” 

Something in his voice told her to not ask any further questions, but she felt that she had too. He was an Omega mutant that had avoided being recognized. She didn’t know anything about him, except for his name. And that didn’t tell her much. For all she knew, he could be working with some organization that was against the school. He could be acting nice just to get close to Charles and Erik. It could all be a plan. Getting Nina to the mansion so that Erik would feel thankful and not be able to throw him out. Raven looked straight into his purple eyes and made a decision. She had to ask him about everything. Charles would never intrude into someone’s privacy. He always saw the good in everyone. Hank didn’t care that much about who the newcomer was. Erik was too thankful for getting his daughter back, to even suspect the cajun. Peter and Nina seemed to be amazed by him. The younger X-Men probably didn’t understand the dangers that came with letting an unknown mutant into their house. So it had to be her. She had to protect the others.

“What monster?” 

He hesitated. His eyes shifted to brown and then back to purple, almost as if he didn’t have any control over it. 

“I… I would rather not talk about him.” 

Her eyebrows rose. 

“Really? Do I look like I care? You came here with Nina, which we are very thankful over. But there is something about you that gives even me the creeps. So you better start talking or I’ll start considering you a treat to the others and throw you out. Wounded or not.” 

For a long moment they were staring at each other. He could see, in her yellow eyes, that she was irritated. In the end, he sighed and nodded. 

“Alright. You are right. If I were in your position, I wouldn’t trust myself either. And I doubt that professor of yours will ever try to go as far as to break my walls and get into my mind.” 

His voice was serious and it was first now that she realized that it had been more arrogant and playful before. 

“Charles could do that?” 

He winced. 

“Oui. He could. It would be painful for me. Almost like getting tortured. But it would be possible. It has been done before.” 

“By that ‘monster’?” 

It took him a few seconds to nod. 

“By Sinister.”

She almost jumped hearing that name. Of course she knew who he was. Everyone knew who Sinister was. Had she really been so wrong? Had she managed to make a victim of a mad scientist, into a criminal?

“You were his prisoner?” 

“I was his best servant.”

Maybe not that wrong then. Before she managed to say anything, he continued: 

“Don’t misunderstand it. Remy never wanted it. But he had to. The debt was too big to simply get out after a few favors.” 

She felt confused over the switch to third person but decided to not comment on that. 

“What debt? And what did you do for him?” 

Sudden anger appeared in his eyes.

“Why do you want to know everything about me but I don’t even get a chance to ask you about yourself? You know what? Leave me alone. You have my word that I will leave as soon as I am healed.” 

Then he let go of her wrist and closed his eyes. A part of her wanted to say something. Wanted to tell him that he could ask her whatever he wanted. But that part quieted down when the door opened and Nina went inside. The little girl ran over to the bed and climbed up. Remy’s eyes opened and he smiled. 

“Petite. How is Silver?” 

“Petey is fine. He woke up a few minutes ago and had a panic attack. Like that little boy we met in Poland. So I told him to breath like me and he calmed down. Just like that boy did when you helped him. Papa said I was very brave and asked if i could let him talk to Petey. So I came here. Oh, the professor stopped me on the way. He asked me to tell you that he would like to talk to you when you feel better.” 

Then she smiled widely and started to sing the same lullaby he had sung to her. She managed to mess up the melody in a few places and mispronounced almost all the french words, but to Remy, it was the thought that counted. He just hoped that Erik would be careful when he spoke to Peter. The speedster was in emotional shock. He could feel it all the way from the other side of the mansion. And he wasn’t even concentrating on him. 


	9. PTSD

Peter was running in small circles in an impossible speed. To Erik, he was just a silver blur. He seemed to be too worked up to be able to sit down. 

“Peter. Could you stop and talk with me?” 

For a whole minute Peter was just running even faster, if that was even possible. Then he stopped and fell, face first, onto the bed. A powerful sob shook his body and less than a second later he was crying. Erik sat down on the bed next to him and started to stroke the boy’s hair. A moment later he remembered that the boy could react violently again but it seemed that the gentle touch was more calming than stressing. He wanted to ask about what had happened in the kitchen but decided to wait. The boy was visibly upset and in no condition to speak. Peter slowly moved around on the bed so that he ended up with his head next to Erik’s hip. The man just kept stroking his hair. If this was what his son needed, then he could go along with it until Peter was feeling good enough to talk. The door opened quietly and Raven stepped inside. She was in her blonde form. 

“How is he?” 

Erik glanced down to Peter. The boy was asleep. 

“Bad. He is restless and I think he blames himself for what happened in the kitchen.” 

He sighed and gently moved the boy so that he was laying in a more normal position. He pulled the blanket over him and left the room, together with Raven. Hank was waiting for them outside. 

“How is he?” 

“Sleeping. He tired himself out. But he’ll have to talk to someone. I think that he somehow blames himself for what happened to Nina. And now, he clearly also blames himself about Remy getting hurt. Is he alright, by the way?” 

Raven shrugged. 

“He says he will be. He is healing. But someone other than me should talk to him and tell him to stay. I might have upset him a bit. Nina told him that Charles wanted to talk to him so I think it would be good if it came from him.” 

Hank frowned. 

“What did you say to him?” 

She shrugged again. 

“I asked him out about who he is and his past.” 

Erik felt sudden irritation. 

“Why would you do that?” 

Raven turned to him quickly. 

“Because Charles and Hank would never do it! And you wouldn’t ask him because your kids like him so much. Admit it Erik. We don’t know anything about him. He could be dangerous. He could work for someone and try to get close to Charles. I’m not going to let anyone hurt any more mutants!” 

“We know, Raven.” 

Everyone turned around to see Charles wheeling towards them. 

“We know that you won’t let any mutant get hurt. But you should talk with us, before you do anything like that. I was actually going to talk to Remy about himself, after I saw how he fought against Peter. Because I find it impossible for him to know those moves without having been in a fight before. I’m still going to talk to him. Once he is healed enough to talk.” 

Just then, the other X-Men came into the hall. 

“How is Peter?” 

“Is he alright? 

“Where is Remy?” 

Erik and Hank turned to Raven, who in turn turned to Charles. The telepath rolled his eyes and answered slowly:

“Peter will be fine. He is currently asleep again. Remy is in his room, resting. We should leave them for now. Jean, could you go to Remy’s room and get Nina?” 

The redhead nodded and walked away. Ororo looked towards Peter’s room. 

“What happened?” 

Hank sighed. 

“It’s called PTSD. Post-traumatic stress disorder. People that have been through traumatic experiences get it. Sometimes, the smallest things can trigger a flashback. In Peter’s case, pulling his hair seems to trigger him. It takes him back to when Apocalypse had him. We should just give him time. Don’t bring it up. Don’t treat him differently.” 

“Don’t blame him.” 

Everyone turned around and noticed Remy standing with his hand on the wall. His other hand was on his ribs. Hank started to walk towards him but stopped when he saw a sharp glint in the cajun’s eyes. 

“I’m fine. They are not broken. Just cracked. And healing quickly.” 

Behind him were Jean and Nina. The little girl ran over to Erik and he lifted her up. Remy looked over to Peter’s door. 

“He’s asleep?” 

Raven nodded. 

“Good. He needs it. As for me, I’ll be leaving. Tell Peter that I don’t blame him.” 

He turned around and started to slowly walk down the hall. Raven hesitated.  _ ‘Go after him. It’s not everyday you get those kind of feelings for someone.’  _ She looked at him with wide eyes. Charles smirked.  _ ‘Just go, Raven. Or he’ll leave forever.’  _ And that made Raven feel oddly nervous. She glanced to the others. They all seemed to be shocked by his sudden leaving. And she decided that she would not let him go that easily. Quickly, she ran over to him and grabbed his elbow. 

“Come on. Let’s go to some quiet room. We’ll talk.” 

He tried to free his arm from her but she was stronger than he thought. 

“I don’t wanna tell you anything more.” 

Raven rolled her eyes. 

“I said that WE are going to talk. That means that I will tell you things too. I promise.” 

He raised his eyebrows. 

“You sure, chere? I could be dangerous.” 

She smirked. 

“I’ll take that chance. It might be worth it.” 

Behind them, Charles and Erik smiled. This was the Raven they both knew. Flirty and sure about herself. Remy nodded. 

“Lead the way then.” 

As they walked away, Scott leaned a bit closer to Kurt. 

“Did I miss something?” 

Kurt shrugged and his tail jerked upwards a bit. Ororo and Jean rolled their eyes. The storm mutant went closer to Erik and smiled to Nina. 

“Would you like to go outside with us, Nina? We’ve heard that you can speak to animals.” 

The little girl nodded and Erik put her down. She ran over to Scott, who picked her up. She had already became like a little sister to them all. Before they left, Erik moved closer to Kurt and said with his Magneto voice:

“Keep an eye on her.” 

The blue mutant nodded quickly. His eyes were wide with fright and Charles sighed.  _ ‘Be nice, Erik.’ ‘Oh come on, Charlie. Don’t tell me this isn’t a bit fun.’  _ The telepath forced himself to not smile. He was happy to have his friend back.  _ ‘Just don’t scare him too much.’  _ Then he frowned and looked towards Peter’s door.  _ ‘Peter is waking up. Go, talk to him. He needs you now.’  _ Erik waited until the kids had left before he went inside Peter’s room again. Charles wheeled down the hall. 

“Come on, Hank. You can tell me about that medicine.” 

In Peter’s room, Erik was sitting on the bed again. Peter was slowly waking up. He yawned and looked around. 

“How long did I sleep?” 

“Not more than 15 minutes.” 

Peter sighed. 

“It felt like a few hours. But it always does. I need a drink.” 

Erik quickly put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. 

“No. You’re not going to drink any more of that shit. Understood?” 

Peter looked as if he wanted to argue, but seeing Erik’s stern expression, he nodded. 

“Yeah. Fine. Sure. No more shit.” 

He slowly sat up and smiled. 

“This is odd, you know.” 

“What is odd?” 

Peter waved his hand between them. 

“This. You. Having a father.” 

Erik felt bad. 

“Listen Peter. If I knew that Marya was pregnant…” 

The boy nodded. 

“Yeah. I know. You wouldn’t have left. It’s fine. Really. I mean, it would have been nice to grow up with a father. But if you had been with us, then Nina wouldn’t be here. She wouldn’t exist. So I’m not going to complain. I like my little sister. She is nice. A bit wild.” 

Erik decided that he had to take up what had happened in the kitchen. 

“Peter. Can we talk about what happened earlier?” 

“Do we really have to?” 

The man sighed. 

“Yes. You have PTSD, Peter. Did you know about that?” 

He shook his head. 

“Not really. I mean, I had nightmares about him and what happened but I didn’t think I would be triggered by something like pulling my hair.” 

He lifted his hand up, grabbed his own hair and pulled it. Nothing happened and he started to laugh. 

“See. Nothing happens. I just don’t get it. I trust Remy. He would never hurt me. He couldn’t. I don’t understand why I reacted like that.” 

Then sudden realization hit him. 

“Shit! Remy. Is he alright? I remember hitting him.” 

Erik quickly answered before the boy worked himself up again. 

“Remy is fine. He is healing. His ribs are cracked but otherwise he says he is fine. He’s with Raven now.” 

Peter’s eyes widened. 

“Raven. Remy and Raven? How?” 

The man shrugged. 

“No idea. And I’m not going to ask.” 

“I’m hungry.” 

Erik smiled. At least the boy wanted to eat. That was good. 


	10. The Truths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for not writing for so long time. Much has happened and I wasn't able to write. But now I'm back. Enjoy.

Remy was confused. Raven had dragged him to an empty room and forced him to lay down on the bed. Then she sat down on the edge of it but didn’t say anything. And that confused him. He had been ready to leave. Peter and Nina were safe. He had no reason to stay anymore. Especially since he wasn’t exactly welcome. But he had decided to follow the woman. She had the telepaths protection and Remy had learned through his life to not mess too much with telepaths. Especially those who were as strong as Charles Xavier. He groaned when pain shot through his chest. Raven looked at him with concern but he just ignored it and asked quietly:

“What did you want to talk about?” 

Raven snapped out of her thought and started to slowly talk. 

“I’m Raven Darkholme. I’m a mutant. I was working with Erik while he was still an evil terrorist. I always thought that what he said was right. But then Charles talked some sense into me and I ended up fighting against Apocalypse.” 

Remy lifted one eyebrow. 

“And the fight? That’s what I’m most interested in.” 

She looked confused. 

“Why? Why the fight?” 

Remy rolled his eyes and slowly sat up. 

“Because Peter came back from the fight acting like a soldier that has seen the war. He is too young. He shouldn’t be like that. He should be running around, not caring about things around him. I want to know what happened so that I can help him get back to normal. I want him to feel safe. Him and Nina.” 

Raven tilted her head. She was weighing the options. In the end she decided to simply tell him everything. Maybe then he would give her answers to her questions. 

“Apocalypse came around and started to collect people that would be his horsemen. Actually, now that I think about it, he would most probably have tried to get you to follow him if he knew that you are an omega mutant. Either way, he got Ororo, Angel, Psylocke and Erik. They appeared in the mansion just as we had blown the cerebro up. They took Charles away, and Alex tried to blow them up. They disappeared and the blast that Alex had made, made everything blow up. The whole mansion. Peter got here in the last second. He got everyone out and saved everyone’s lives. Well, almost everyone. Alex was closest to the blast. He didn’t make it. Some soldiers appeared and knocked us out with a blast. They took me, Peter, Hank and Moira to a cell where the walls shocked us if we touched them. Jean, Scott and Kurt had gotten onto the plane and helped us out. We flew to where we knew that Charles was. Kurt was sent to get Charles back while me and Peter went to talk to Erik. Peter was going to to tell Erik that they are related but he changed his mind and, after I talked to Erik, we left to help the others. Kurt got Charles but there was something going on with the plane and they couldn’t get away. I don’t know what happened. I never asked. Either way, Jean, Hank, Kurt and Moira stayed with Charles while Peter attacked Apocalypse. He used his speed to knock him around, but Apocalypse seemed to be able to take over people’s mutations. He captured Peter’s leg in the ground. Peter tried to punch him but Apocalypse just broke his arm and then his leg as well. Peter was on his knees when Apocalypse grabbed his hair and pulled his head back for Psylocke to cut his throat. I was impersonating her then but he didn’t know that. He really thought that he was going to die. And he looked so ready to give up. I’ll never forget it.” 

Remy sank down to a lying position again. His eyes were closed and he had a bit trouble getting his head around all of it. Raven gave him a few minutes before she asked quietly:

“Why do you care so much about Peter and Nina?” 

His eyes snapped open but he stayed calm as he sighed and slowly answered: 

“When I was younger and living on the streets, I was abused very often. Mostly because I was a mutant. I couldn’t control what colour my eyes were. So everyone knew. When I met Peter, I noticed that his mother had trouble with him being a mutant. So I decided to help him because I knew how he felt. And I wasn’t going to let another mutant child go through what I went through. When I saw Nina… The way they beat her up. I couldn’t bear it. I wanted to blow them all up. But I had to get her out. So I took her away from there and made sure she was safe.” 

The silence stretched between them while Raven thought it through. She had heard about mutant children being abused by normal humans. She had been one of them. But if he was telling the truth, his childhood was most probably even worse than hers. But while she went out with Erik and tried to help the other mutants with force, he simply made his best to help the ones that were in trouble. Suddenly Remy smiled and looked at her with a glint in his eyes. 

“Is it my turn to ask now?” 

She snapped out of her thoughts and nodded. 

“Yeah. Sure. 

“What's going on between you and Furry Blue?” 

For a second she just stared at him as if he had suddenly turned pink. Then she slowly started to answer. 

“I have no idea why you are asking this but I did say I would answer your questions. As to me and Hank… We have history. But there is nothing going on now. We're just very good friends.”

Remy snorted quietly and murmured:

“That's not how HE feels.” 

Unfortunately for him, Raven had very good hearing. She lifted her eyebrows. 

“What's that supposed to mean?” 

He seemed to realize that he had said it out loud and closed his eyes. 

“Merde.” 

Raven gently slapped his arm.

“Don't curse in the school. And tell me what you meant.” 

Remy took a deep breath. 

“I'll tell you. But you can't tell it to anyone. I like to keep some parts of my mutation a secret. I'm an empath. I can feel other people's emotions. Feel them. Change them. Whatever I want. I've felt the feelings that Furry Blue has for you. They are impossible to miss. Even though I have to admit that he hides them very well.” 

Raven looked out through the window. She had been sure that Hank had lost all his feelings for her. She had even told him that what happened between them was in the past. And then a sudden thought struck her. 

“If you feel others feelings, how do you know which ones are your own? How do you not confuse them?” 

He smiled softly and slowly moved his hand so that it rested on top of her hand. The walk had weakened him and he was furious about it. But he decided to focus on her instead of the pain. 

“It's different. Trust me when I say that it's impossible to confuse those two. What I feel is always different. And what I feel towards you is in no way caused by Furry Blue's feelings. I understand that you don't feel the same about me. And I promise that I will get out of your way as soon as I am healed.” 

She reached over and put her hand on his mouth. His eyes widened but he stayed perfectly still. Raven smiled. 

“Shut up. I don't want you to get out of my way. I want you to stay. Here. In the mansion. With me.” 

She pulled her hand away but he was still quiet. For a long moment he kept staring at her in confusion. Then he snapped up her feelings through the panicky bubble that Peter's emotions had created around the mansion. It was almost as bad as that night in the tunnels. He quickly concentrated in on her. And he felt shock.

“You don't hate me.” 

It was a statement that didn't really need an answer, but she nodded either way. Remy smiled softly. 

“Maybe I could stay for a bit.” 

She smiled back at him and gently started to stroke his hair. He closed his eyes. They stayed in silence while he did his best to ignore the pain. Then she asked slowly: 

“Can you feel Peter from here?” 

He nodded. 

“Oui. He's a mess. It's overshadowing all the others. But I can still feel them. Erik I worried. Jean, Mohawk and the two boys are a bit nervous but it's nothing too big. The professor is calm. Very calm. Nina is happy.” 

Raven noticed that he left out Hank. She smiled and just kept stroking his hair. He let his eyes slip shut and drifted into sleep.


	11. New Danger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ!!!   
> 1\. I'm terribly sorry for not updating for so long. Things have been happening and I didn't really have time to write that much. Now, to keep some kind of order to this, I will be updating every friday.   
> 2\. I'm on my way to officially change my name to Morgana. Therefore, my answers to your comments will come under that name.   
> Thank you for sticking around with my story. I love you all.

The night came sooner than any of them had expected. Remy had healed and helped Raven ready some food. Erik had stayed with Charles and Hank, while the telepath kept an eye on Peter’s mind. Jean, Ororo, Scott and Kurt had kept Nina outside the entire day, taking only a small break when Raven came out with some cookies and other snacks. Peter had slept. He slept through the entire day and Remy was starting to get worried. When they had called the others to come and eat, he pulled Erik aside and said with a serious voice: 

“He can’t sleep that long.” 

Erik frowned. 

“What do you mean?” 

The cajun sighed. 

“I mean what I say. He can’t sleep that long. His powers make everything around him move faster. His whole life is going in a faster pace. He usually sleeps a few hours.” 

But Erik still didn’t understand what the man wanted. 

“What do you say we should do? Wake him up?” 

The seriousness in his eyes was all the answer Erik needed. 

“Wait a second. You really think we should wake him up.” 

Remy nodded and, seeing the protest that was raising in Erik, explained quickly. 

“His body doesn’t function like yours or mine. He is different. He can’t sleep for so long without it getting dangerous for him. For his health. We need to wake him up. Make him burn off his energy.” 

Erik still looked unconvinced. He had never dealt with a mutant with super speed but he had dealt with children. And he knew that children needed sleep. 

“Look here, cajun. I raised Nina for some years. And if I know anything about children then it is that they need sleep. So don’t you…” 

He didn’t manage to say anything else since he got slammed against the wall by Remy. He quickly tried to grasp any metal that the cajun had on him and got surprised that he couldn’t find anything. Remy smirked for a moment. 

“Yeah. I thought about that. Took away all the metal from my clothes and weapons. So nice try. And let me tell you something now. You may have raised Nina. But you weren’t there for Peter. He needed you, and you weren’t there. He had to go through the fear of discovering his mutation alone. With a mother that still remembered the horrors she went through with you. You didn’t see it. You weren’t there. Peter told me everything. About how he would run into walls and, well, pretty much everything else. How he almost starved because he didn’t know about his metabolism being so quick. How the kids in his class found out and abused him for it. You weren’t there for ANY of that. So don’t YOU dare to say that you know how to raise children, when you weren’t even there for your own son. And, while I’m at it, where were you when Nina needed you? You left their bodies just lying there in the woods. Do you know how much pain could have been spared her if you had taken the arrow out right there and then taken her with you?” 

Erik was staring at him with wide eyes. None of the men noticed Raven, Charles and Hank watching them from the end of the hallway. The cajun felt that Erik tried to get away from him, and he allowed the man to move a bit before he slammed him back against the wall. 

“You’ve caused both of them so much pain. You…” 

Before he could say anything else, a woosh was heard, and he was flying through the air. His reflexes saved him and he managed to turn around so that his feet connected with the wall and made a soft flip onto the floor. He stood up and looked over to Peter. The boy looked extremely tired. His hair was sticking in all directions. But his eyes were what caught the cajuns attention. They were angry. He took a step towards the boy, only to get knocked back against the wall. Less than a second later, Peter was back at Erik’s side. Remy let his hands hang loosely along his sides and kept his back pressed to the wall. He had lived with ferals long enough to know when he was supposed to stay in one place. And, even though Peter was absolutely NOT a feral, he was hurt and full of overwhelming emotions. And that was what Remy was used to dealing with. He kept eye contact with Peter and slowly started to walk towards him, while he talked in a calming tone. 

“Peter. I’m not going to hurt you.” 

“You were going to hurt him.” 

Peter’s voice was weak but laced with so much anger that it carried clearly through the hall. Remy stopped and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, Peter was still glaring at him. He took a deep breath. 

“Do you want me to leave? Because I will not apologize for telling the truth.” 

He knew that he would leave. Whatever Raven might try to say. Because Peter and Nina were sharing the number one spot in his heart. Peter just looked at him with sudden sadness. He knew that one word from him would be enough to make Remy leave. The cajun always cared more about him than himself. It would be so easy to just make him leave. But, on the other side, Remy hadn’t lied about anything. Everything he said was true. Peter had needed a father. Especially a father that would explain everything to him. Someone that would tell him how to control his mutation. That there was nothing wrong with him. Maybe he would never have started to steal. Maybe his kleptomania was just because he was trying so hard to fill the empty space that not having a father had made. He took a deep breath and ran over to Remy. The cajun didn’t even flinch when the boy suddenly appeared next to him. He spread his arms and Peter fell into them, hugging him tightly. Nothing was said but they both understood that they were both sorry. Remy looked up to Erik and froze. Erik was watching them with such hate, that Remy was actually worried for a second that he would attack. But then, Nina came running into the hall. She looked from her father to Remy and Peter. In the end she seemed to decide that the cajun needed her more and rushed over to him. 

“Remy?” 

He nodded slowly. 

“Were you leaving?” 

He hesitated. And it was answer enough for her. Tears appeared in her eyes and she turned around and ran back to Raven. Remy let go of Peter. 

“Sparrow. Wait.” 

She stopped but didn’t turn around. 

“I’m not going to say that you wouldn’t understand this, even if that’s the truth. But I will say that your father and I have a few things that we need to clear up between us. And, unless we can come to some kind of agreement, I will have to leave after I talk to him.” 

She turned towards him and asked with a child’s stubbornness: 

“But why? Why can’t you stay?” 

Remy sighed. 

“As I said when we arrived here, this is not my life. I’m a gambler. I travel around.” 

Charles raised his eyebrows but, before he managed to say anything, they heard a roar from outside. A second later, Kurt appeared along with Jean, Scott and Ororo. They all looked frantic. 

“Professor! Professor!” 

Jean ran up to the telepath. 

“Professor! There are some men outside. And they do not look friendly.” 

Charles put his fingers to his head but frowned a few seconds later. 

“Nothing. I can’t get into their heads. I just know that there are people outside.” 

Raven’s eyes widened. 

“How is it possible? How can someone just block you out?” 

Charles glanced over to Remy and the cajun frowned. 

“Don’t look at me. I’m not doing anything. I can’t block you from other people. Just from myself.” 

Peter quickly turned to Nightcrawler. 

“Kurt. Take Nina and teleport her to Marya Maximoff’s house. Tell her that I sent you and that she is in danger at the mansion. And that I will come and get her when everything is alright.” 

Kurt nodded quickly, grabbed Nina and disappeared. Peter turned to Remy. 

“You still going to bail on us?” 

They all turned to Remy and saw, to their surprise, that he had an almost happy glint in his eyes. Almost as if the idea of having to fight suddenly gave him life. He looked around and frowned. 

“My staff. I think I never took it from the kitchen.” 

Peter disappeared for a second and then reappeared with the bo staff in his hand. He threw it over to Remy who caught it without a problem. Then Kurt appeared again. 

“Mrs Maximoff was a bit shocked but she promised to keep an eye on Nina.” 

Peter smiled. 

“Thank you.” 

Charles turned to Kurt. 

“Kurt. Could you take  us outside?” 

The teleporter nodded and grabbed the wheelchair. Raven, Hank, Jean, Ororo and Scott put their hands on Kurt’s shoulders. Erik, understanding what was happening, quickly went over there and put his hand on the teleporter’s shoulder as well. They all turned to Remy, but he shook his head. 

“Non. I have my own ride.” 

He looked over to Peter and the speedster smirked. He was next to Remy a second later and had his hand on the cajun’s neck. They all nodded and, at the same moment, Kurt teleported and Peter ran. They all appeared on the grass outside the mansion at the same moment. Erik looked a bit green for a moment but other than that they were all ready to fight.


	12. Captured

Charles frowned seeing the group of people in front of them. He had memories of one of the men but couldn't really place him anywhere. Next to Peter, Remy froze. He remembered that man. All too well. Colonel Stryker smiled.

“The X-Men. How I've waited for this moment.” 

Erik moved a bit closer to Charles and Raven. Peter frowned. 

“You're the guy who held us, right?” 

Stryker nodded. A second later, he pressed on a button on the control he was holding. All the X-Men fell, unconscious. 

                                                   ***

Peter woke up first. He was in an old cell. Slowly, he stood up and walked over to Raven. He shook her gently and her eyes opened. 

“Peter?” 

He nodded and moved on to Remy. 

“Rems. Wake up.” 

The cajun grunted in response and Peter moved to Ororo, taking that as confirmation that the man was alive. Slowly, they all woke up. A big surprise was that Charles was still in his chair. Erik went closer to him. The telepath shook his head, understanding the unspoken question. 

“No. I can't hear anything from in here.” 

Raven sighed and changed back to her human form. She glanced over to Remy, who was sitting with his eyes closed. 

“Remy?” 

He shook his head and that caught Peter's attention. 

“Remy? What's going on?” 

“Tante Mattie's spell. It wore off. I can't feel it anymore.” 

Raven frowned. 

“You had a spell placed on you?” 

Remy didn't answer. Peter looked around, and then sat down next to the Cajun. 

“Remy. It's different times now. Different people. You don't have to worry. It won't be like that again.” 

Slowly, he opened his eyes. And everyone gasped. They were completely black, with only a red pupil. Remy froze. 

“Merde. It's been awhile.” 

He turned his head towards the dark windows and frowned. 

“They are watching us.” 

Raven went a bit closer to him. 

“Why did you hide your eyes?” 

Remy shrugged. 

“They show that I’m a mutant.” 

For a long moment everyone was silent. Then, Raven burst out: 

“And that’s supposed to be a bad thing?! How can you be ashamed of who you are?! Look at me! What am I supposed to say?! My entire body is blue! So is Kurt’s! Hank has fur! What ever could make you feel as if you had to hide?!” 

Before she could continue, he flew up and started to talk. 

“Don’t you dare saying that I don’t have a reason. You didn’t grow up fearing your own shadow. You weren’t called the White Devil. You didn’t have people try to stone you or burn you alive. You weren’t kidnapped as a child by people who thought you fitted in to their prophecy. You can change the way you look at will. You are a hero. Me, I’m just a thief. I have a mad scientist following every move I make. So forgive me for wanting to blend in and hide the thing that gave me away the most.” 

Then he sat down again and leaned against the wall. It zapped him but he just winced before he leaned away from it. Slowly, Jean sat down next to him. He glanced over at her and she smiled. 

“We do not mean to upset you, Remy.”

He frowned. Meanwhile, Peter walked closer to the wall. He reached his hand out but stopped when he heard Remy’s quick: 

“Stop!” 

Everyone turned to him. Kurt tilted his head. 

“What’s going on?” 

Remy stood up and pointed at the walls. 

“They are all charged. Every time you touch them, they zap you. If they are feeling extra playful, they will up the electric shocks.” 

Charles frowned. 

“How do you know that?” 

The cajun winced. 

“I’ve been here before.” 

Before anyone could comment on that, the light in the window over them went on. They all looked up and saw Stryker standing there. He smirked. 

“Welcome to Three Mile Island.” 

Charles wheeled to the front of their group. 

“William. Why are you doing this?”

Behind him, Remy snorted. 

“Don’t try to talk and reason with him, professeur.” 

Stryker looked over to him. 

“Gambit. It’s been a while. I’m sure your old… room, is still waiting for you. And it’s nice to finally see your eyes. Victor have told me much about them. And about your powers. Just think about it. Your empathy and kinetic power, together with Xavier’s telepathy. And as to you.” 

He turned his head towards Peter. 

“We noticed the matching DNA. We’d love to see if your father’s mutation could be brought out in you.” 

Erik looked up with fury. 

“If you dare to even go close to him, I’ll kill you.” 

Stryker laughed. 

“You won’t be able to, Magneto. We know what you can do. We are not stupid enough to let you out of that cell. And, if we do need to move you out of there, I’m sure Gambit can tell you what will happen.” 

Remy nodded stiffly. 

“They have Genoshan collars.” 

Everyone but Hank looked at him with questioning looks. He glanced up to Stryker and almost cursed when he realized that the man would not say anything more. 

“It’s special made collars from the island of Genosha. They block mutations. It’s… nothing pleasant. Trust me on that.” 

Stryker smiled. 

“Let’s get started then, shall we? I think we’ll start by putting you in your cells. Sadly, you’ll have to share. We still have problems with some of the cells on the lower floors.” 

Then he turned to the soldiers and started giving out orders. 

“Take Mystique together with the young telepath. Beast with Nightcrawler. Xavier, Storm and Cyclops. Magneto and Gambit. And put that speedster together with Creed.” 

Remy’s head snapped over to him. 

“Non.” 

Stryker raised his eyebrows. 

“Anything you would like to say?” 

Remy hesitated for a second before he stepped forward. 

“Change our places. Peter goes with Erik and I go with Creed.” 

Stryker frowned and Remy continued. 

“Look. I know that you want Creed to give up and become your soldier. I can convince him. In worst case, I can make him do it. You KNOW I can.” 

For a moment Stryker just stared at him. Then he nodded. 

“Alright, Gambit. I think we’ll be able to work together. Get him out of there first. Then take them out in the order I told you.” 

The soldiers nodded and headed downstairs to open the doors. Everyone turned towards Remy. 

“What was that?” 

The cajun shrugged. 

“I know what Creed is capable of. There is no way I’m going to let them put Peter with him.” 

The doors opened and guns were pointed inside. Remy took a deep breath and stepped outside. Erik, noticing Peter’s tense shoulders, quickly dragged him towards himself and hugged the boy. Then, the door opened again and Raven and Jean were forced outside. A few minutes later, the soldiers took Hank and Kurt. The teleporter’s tail was twitching nervously. Charles, Ororo and Scott were taken out after them, with one of the soldiers holding a gun to Scott’s head to make sure that he wouldn’t try anything. Then, the soldiers came back and pointed their guns at Peter. 

“Come on. Move.” 

Erik squeezed his son’s shoulder before they walked outside and were led by the soldiers down the halls. The man wanted to fight but knew that it would be too dangerous. Especially since the gun was still pointed at Peter’s head. He would have to wait. As long as he didn’t use his mutation, he hoped that they wouldn’t put that collar on him. He didn’t know what it was but, if it could block his power, then he had to keep away from it. He thought about Nina. Peter had sent her away to Marya and he hoped that the woman would take good care of his daughter. 


	13. No Way Of Getting Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being a bit late. Had a rough couple of days. The next update will be on Friday.

Peter was pacing around the cell that they had been put in. Erik was sitting on one of the beds. 

“Peter. You need to calm down.” 

The boy shook his head. 

“I can’t. I’m too worked up.” 

His speed picked up and Erik sighed. He didn’t know what would happen to him but he knew that there was no point in getting scared. And there was really no use in showing their feelings. It would only be used against them. But then, he suddenly realized something. He knew how to deal with captivity. None of the other X-Men did. Maybe only Raven. And Remy. He frowned thinking about the cajun. There was something off about him. And the fact that he had been in this place before and very clearly knew Stryker. But he shook his head quickly. There was nothing he could do about him now. What he could do, was try to calm his son. 

“Peter. Calm down. Not only are you giving them ammunition, but you are also using up the energy that you will need for when we flee.” 

Peter burst out laughing. He stopped and just stared at Erik. 

“You don’t get it, do you? There is no way of getting out. Don’t you get how much it took for Remy to flee? What condition he was in? It almost killed him. And Remy had already been through two hells before that. The X-Men are not used to this. They won’t make it.” 

For a long moment he was just standing there, before he flopped down onto the bed. Erik moved over to the bed that his son was on. 

“We will get out, Peter. I swear. I’ll get us out.” 

But the boy shook his head. 

“No. You’ll get yourself killed. And you’ll leave me and Nina alone.” 

“I won’t. I’ll find a way to get us out of here. I promise.” 

The boy threw his hands up into the air. 

“It’s like talking to a brick wall. But you know what? Do whatever you want.” 

He laid down on the bed and closed his eyes. Erik hesitated before he moved back to his bed. He would get them out. He would do anything to save his family. 

                                                           *******

Raven was sitting with her back against the bed. Jean was on the other bed. The redhead was frowning, while she looked around. 

“Um. Raven?” 

The woman looked up. 

“Yeah?” 

“I… Will we survive this?” 

Raven tilted her head. 

“Why are you asking that?” 

For a long moment, the telepath was quiet. Then she answered slowly: 

“Because Remy is scared. And he doesn’t seem to be easily scared.” 

Raven sighed and moved up to the bed. She sat down next to the girl and shook her head. 

“No. He isn’t easily scared. But, if he got out once, he will find a way to get out again. And this time, he won’t be alone. We’ll be there with him. We’ll get out.” 

Jean smiled softly. 

“Thank you, Raven.” 

                                                                  ******

Hank was looking around the cell they were in, trying to figure out if there way a way to get out. Kurt was curled up on one of the beds. 

“Mr McCoy?” 

The man turned to him. 

“Yes?” 

He smiled softly when he noticed the nervousness on the teleporter’s face. 

“What is it, Kurt?” 

Kurt’s tail twitched, showing how nervous he was. 

“What will they do to us?” 

The scientist sat down heavily on the other bed. 

“I don’t know. I wish I could tell you. I wish I could say that everything will be alright. But I can’t. I don’t know what they will do. We just have to hope that everything will work out in the end and that we will be able to get out.” 

Kurt closed his eyes for a moment, before he suddenly leaned forwards a bit. 

“Mr McCoy? Will you pray with me?” 

Hank smiled. 

“Of course.” 

Kurt managed a small smile before he started the prayer. 

                                                                          **********

Charles was sitting in his chair and watching Ororo and Scott. The two teenagers had been very nervous when they had been brought into the cell, but then they seemed to try to do anything to cheer each other up. Ororo was telling him stories from her childhood. In return, he told her about the jokes he used to pull on Alex. Charles tried to concentrate on the voices around him. The cell didn’t do anything to block his mutation. Peter was irritated. Erik had plans running through his head. Quickly he thought ‘Calm down, Erik. Peter is right.’ He moved on. Raven and Jean were talking about mutant powers so he left them alone. A small smile appeared on his face when he heard the prayer from Hank and Kurt. He gently moved on, making sure to not disturb the two. There was one more person he wanted to find, but that task would be difficult, knowing that said person could block him. He searched further and further away, until he suddenly snached up an odd combination of thoughts. ‘Blood. Idiot. Runt. Protect. Hurt.’ He concentrated more and managed to get completely into that person’s head. He looked out through his eyes and was shocked to see Remy under him. The cajun was on his back, his eyes wide open. His hands were held on the bed above his head. The person holding him lowered his head a bit and Remy started to struggle. 

“Victor. Please don’t.” 

Charles jerked out of the person’s head. His eyes were wide open in horror. What had that boy gotten himself into? And then, realizing how they were going to be split up at the beginning, he realized something important. Peter was supposed to be in that room. Remy had knowingly put himself into that cell. He had known what would happen to him. He had protected Peter. 

                                                                    ********

Remy was on his back, doing his best to keep a check on his emotions. If he started projecting, they would use it against him. Suddenly, the door slammed open and Victor Creed stepped inside. He grinned and closed the door behind him. It locked but he didn’t look at it. His entire concentration was on the man on the bed. Remy opened one eye and glanced over to him. 

“Victor. It’s been a while.” 

He didn’t even manage to think, before Victor had pounced. He was on top of him seconds later, sitting on his hips. Remy’s instincts told him to try to buck the feral off of him, but he quickly remembered how it had ended the last time he did that. Both his legs had been broken. So he stayed still. Victor growled and started to lean down. And Remy’s instincts kicked in. His hands came up and he tried to push the feral away, but Victor was stronger. Remy’s wrists were grabbed and he felt claws digging into his skin so he relaxed. 

“Alright. Alright. I’m not moving.” 

Victor grinned and leaned forwards a bit so that he could hold Remy’s hands over his head. He tilted his head and sniffed in the air. The cajun was quiet. He knew that there was no idea in trying to fight. Creed was stronger than him. The feral leaned his head down a bit and Remy noticed with horror how he was staring at his neck. He knew that there was something about his blood that always attracted Victor. He started to struggle but there was no way he was getting out. He met the feral’s eyes and whispered: 

“Victor. Please don’t.” 

For almost an entire minute, the feral was just looking at him. Then he quickly leaned down and bit into Remy’s neck. The cajun let out a quiet scream, before he shut his mouth tightly. No weakness. He wouldn’t show any weakness. Victor sat up again and looked down at him. There was blood around his mouth and he grinned. 

“I need to clean off. Don’t you dare even thinking about moving, runt.” 

And Remy relaxed. There it was. His old nickname. Seeing that Victor was still waiting, he nodded, and his wrists were released. He felt blood slowly coming out of both the neck wound and his wrists. Victor frowned at that. He stood up and walked over to a small cabinet. He pulled out a few bandages and a wet rag out of it and walked back to the bed. 

“Sit up.” 

Remy followed the order. He could talk against Stryker. He could talk against Sinister. But he wasn’t stupid enough to talk against Victor. Especially not after the tunnels. The feral cleaned his wounds with the rag and bandaged him up quickly. 

“Stay here.” 

He walked over to a chair that was standing in the corner and shrugged off his jacket. He used the wet rag to clean his face and hands, before he walked back to the bed. 

“Lay down.” 

Remy slowly sunk back down so that he was on his back. He wasn’t really scared. Victor didn’t swing that way. He wouldn’t hurt him. At least not like that. The feral crawled into the bed next to him and turned him onto his side with one powerful move. He pulled him close to himself and snuggled his face into Remy’s long hair. 

“Sleep, runt.” 

He started purring and Remy knew he had lost. Being an empath, he was easily overwhelmed by ferals. The calmness that spread from Victor calmed him down to the point where he felt his eyes slip shut. Behind him, Victor smirked. Stryker had told him to break the cajun. To torture him. But Stryker didn’t know the kid like he did. He knew that Remy was scared of him. He was most probably the only person in the world that Remy was scared of. And, with him being an empath, it would be way too easy to get him under his thumb. There would be no torture needed. He just had to make sure that Remy didn’t come into contact with anyone else and then cut him off from himself too. Put him on emotional withdrawal. In the end, Remy would come to him for the high. He knew that. 


	14. Things Were Really Bad

He was in a tunnel. A big tunnel. For a moment, he just stood in the middle of it, looking around. And then he heard it. Screams. Terrible screams. Quickly, he started heading in that direction. The water made him have to slow down in some parts. He reached an opening and stepped outside. He was now in a big open space. Mutants were fighting all around him. He wanted to help but couldn’t move anymore. He noticed a big feral mutant charging towards him and put his hands up to shield himself. Right before the feral crashed into him, Charles woke up with a gasp. Where had that came from? It was the Morlocks Massacre he had just witnessed. He knew that. But where had those memories appeared from? None of his X-Men could have those memories. He knew that much. Was it possible that there was a mutant in Stryker’s prison, who had survived the attack? He thought back to the dream. He hadn’t been himself. He had been in the body of whoever was having those memories. Slowly, he started to go through everything he had seen in the memory. The person had long hair. It had gotten into his eyes when he turned one time. And a coat. Most probably leather, since it had been heavier than normal fabric. And there was another thing. The bo-staff that he had held in his hand. And he was suddenly hit with realization. He knew whose memories he had seen. Remy’s. But that didn’t make any sense. Why did Remy have memories from the Morlock’s Massacre? And, if they were real, how was it possible that he had gotten into the cajun’s head? He thought back to what he had seen before. He guessed that the man over Remy was Victor Creed. And then he realized another thing. The man who had charged towards him in those tunnels was Victor Creed. And Remy had said himself that he knew Creed from before. Could he have meant the tunnels? But what was he doing down there? How did he end up there? And how did he get out alive? Charles frowned as he tried to understand. He reached out towards the place where he had picked up Creed’s thoughts before and was shocked when he felt another mind there. Remy’s. It was still impossible to get into, but there was something odd about it. He shifted over to the feral and got into his mind without any problems. He quickly looked through the feral’s memories and was shocked when he noticed Mister Sinister. The Marauders. Remy was standing with them in the tunnels. Leading them. Then, he saw Remy trying to fight them. Creed slashing him across his chest. Remy being left in the tunnels. Meeting Remy again in Stryker’s prison. He saw Remy being tortured by Stryker’s men and quickly moved out from the memories. He didn’t want to see it anymore. He used Creed’s eyes to look around. He was in bed, with Remy laying next to him. The cajun was relaxed but there was something in his face expression that told Charles that he did absolutely not feel safe. Slowly, he pulled away from Creed’s mind and closed his own eyes. The boy had served Sinister. He had been in the tunnels. He had been tortured by Stryker. Was that why Raven had pressed him about his past? Was that why she had trouble trusting him? He sighed. Things were not good. 

                                                          ********

Peter was woken up by a soft tapping of metal against metal. He didn’t sit up but turned his head slowly towards where Erik was sitting on the other bed. His eyes were closed and he looked extremely worried. In the air, in front of him, two small metal balls were tapping against each other. Peter closed his eyes again. Things were really bad. He thought about what Remy had told him about this place. He had called it hell. Hell on earth. Almost impossible to get out of. His thoughts drifted off to Nina. His little sister. She was alive. She was safe. His mother would take care of her. Even though she did drink and make sure that everyone knew she disliked mutants, she had kept him safe for so many years. He knew she would keep an eye on Nina and make sure that she was alright. Then he concentrated on Erik again. His father. The man was too hot headed. They had to wait. If they wanted to get out, they would have to wait for the perfect opportunity. Not just act without thinking and try to punch their way out of there. He would have to talk to Erik again. Explain it all. Make sure that he knew that his children needed him. Needed him alive. 

                                                    *******

Remy woke up slowly which, in itself, should have made him suspicious. His side was in pain which told him that he must’ve slept far too long on his side. He tried to roll over to his back, but found himself unable to do anything. The arm around his shoulders was pinning him down to the bed. He tried to struggle and felt claws dig into his arm. And the memories crashed back to him. Creed. And he felt something more. A lingering feeling that had always been in his mind after Sinister had messed with his brain. Could it be possible that he had let his guard down so much that someone had managed to get into his brain? But who? And suddenly it hit him. Xavier. He wrecked his brain for what he had been dreaming about. It took him almost a full minute before he remembered. The tunnels. Creed. He turned his head slightly, so that he was partially facing the feral. Creed grinned. 

“You done overthinking?” 

Remy shrugged. 

“No idea. Can I get up?” 

Slowly, Creed lifted his arm and Remy rolled out of the bed before the feral could change his mind. He stretched and looked around the room. 

“Do we get any food here? Or will it be like the last time?” 

Creed raised his eyebrows. 

“Last time? How I remember it, I had quite good food last time. You were the one who couldn’t accept the situation. And, as far as I know, I will get food. You will not. So you better act nicely, because who knows if I will want to share otherwise.” 

Remy rolled his eyes. 

“Share? You think I want to share food with you?” 

Creed stood up and shrugged. 

“It’s up to you. Starve, if that’s what you want. I don’t care.” 

Remy closed his eyes and sighed. The ferals emotions were all over the place and it was both confusing and irritating. He turned to Creed. 

“What is it you want?” 

“I want you to stop thinking about others, and start thinking about yourself. You are smart. You know the truth. They don’t care about you. None of them does. If they could all be freed now in exchange for you staying here, they wouldn’t even hesitate. They don’t care.” 

Remy shook all over. It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. Peter cared. Peter and Nina. And he relaxed. Nina. She cared about him. He turned to Creed. 

“Nice try, Victor. But I’m not falling for it.” 

Creed sighed, before he shrugged. 

“It was worth a try. I guess we’ll have to do it another way.” 

And he attacked. 

                                                          *********

Raven was pacing the room. Jean was asleep on the bed. The blonde’s thoughts were racing. She had to do something. Anything. She knew that it was only a matter of time before they were put in those collars. And, without their mutations, they would not be able to flee. She knew that she was the only one of them who could fight without her mutation. Maybe Erik too, if he was angry enough. She thought about Remy. She had seen just a few of his fight moves. It was possible that he could fight too. But there were more things to take into consideration too. Charles couldn’t walk. If his chair was taken away, they would have to carry him. And then there was Peter. He was clearly having trouble with being parted from his mutation. If Stryker put a collar on him, they would have a big problem. At least Nina was safe. She sat down on the bed again, trying to organize her thoughts. 


	15. You're Coming With Us

Stryker turned off the screens and sighed heavily. 

“This won’t work. We need to move them around. Jefferson!” 

A soldier came over to him. 

“Yes, sir?” 

“Get your men together. We are going to move the X-Men to other cells. First of all, move Xavier to Creed and Gambit.” 

The soldier shifted slightly and Stryker raised his eyebrows. 

“What?” 

“With all due respect, sir. Isn’t it stupid to move someone into their cell? Creed said something about trying to break Gambit emotionally. Won’t putting someone like Xavier there with them give him emotional stability?” 

Stryker looked at the soldier with irritation. 

“LeBeau is a powerful empath. He can feel your emotions from where he is now. Putting Xavier in his room won’t change anything. But the other two, Cyclops and Storm, are young and inexperienced. They are calm now, because Xavier is with them. Take him away and their safety is gone. And put up another cell. Move Mystique there. I don’t want her with that telepath. From what I understand, she is some kind of hope symbol in the mutant world. As long as she is with that telepath, the girl will not break. Move Quicksilver to the telepath. Without his son there, Magneto will get careless. And if he gets careless, we’ll have more chances of getting something out of him.” 

The soldier seemed to still be hesitant about the plan, but he had been taught to obey orders, so he nodded and left. 

                                                                **********

Raven was torn out of her thoughts by the door slamming open. Five guns were pointed at her head and she raised her hands up in the air. 

“You’re coming with us.” 

She nodded. There was no way she would try to fight against them with Jean there. She couldn’t risk the girl’s life. With a reassuring smile towards Jean, she walked out through the door. The soldiers led her a few doors away from her old cell and pushed her into a new one. She frowned. 

“Why are you moving me here? And what will you do with Jean?” 

One of the soldiers just smirked and shut the door. Raven started pacing nervously around the cell. This was bad. Why had they moved her? Would they hurt Jean? How were the others? 

                                                               *****

The door slammed open, waking Peter up. Five guns were pointed at his head and one of the soldiers stepped forward. 

“You're coming with us.” 

Hearing that, Erik flew up from where he was on the bed and put his hand out towards the soldiers. Less than a second later, Peter was next to him, holding his arm. 

“Stop it. Dad, stop.” 

Erik glanced over to the boy. 

“You're only going to make it worse. Not only for yourself but for me too. Just stop.”

The soldiers stood still, watching the conversation with tension. They didn't have any orders to shoot but all of them knew that they would do it if one of the mutants made a wrong move. Erik must have realized that too because he lowered his arm. 

“If you hurt him, I'll kill you all.” 

Peter sighed in relief and slowly walked out to the soldiers. They quickly closed the door and started leading him down the corridor. There, they opened one of the doors and pushed Peter inside. The boy stumbled but found his footing and was visibly shocked when he noticed Jean in the cell. She stood up quickly and walked over to him just as the door was slammed shut behind his back. Quickly he moved forwards and hugged her. Although slightly shocked, she hugged him back with a slight smile. But her smile quickly turned to worry when she let go of him. 

“Peter. They took Raven.” 

He nodded. 

“I suspected that. They are moving us around. I don't know why but there have to be a motive behind it.”

He sat down on one of the beds and Jean sat on the other. 

“How are you feeling?” 

They said the question at the exactly same time and both burst out laughing seconds later.

                                                            ******

Erik was pacing the room. They had taken his son. His boy. They had taken him away and there was nothing he could do to stop them. His thoughts wandered to that day in Poland. When he thought he had lost both Magda and Nina. He could not go through something like that again. He would not. He concentrated on the metal around him. It buzzed with energy and he stretched his arm out towards the door. It opened almost immediately, only to reveal a soldier with a gun pointed at Erik's shoulder. He shot and a dart hit the mutants shoulder. He fell to the ground, unconscious. The soldier stepped inside and put a collar on his neck. Then he left again, locking the door behind him.

                                                               *****

The door slammed open, and five soldiers walked inside, with their guns pointed at Charles. He raised his hands up and sent calming thoughts to Scott and Ororo. They were both sitting on one of the beds, completely frozen. One of the soldiers stepped closer to Charles. 

“You're coming with us.”

The telepath nodded and lowered his hands to the controls. The soldier shuffled a bit. 

“You try something and we won't hesitate to shoot you.” 

Charles smiled. 

“I don't doubt that.” 

He followed the soldiers and the door slammed shut behind them. They led him through at least seven different corridors, before they stopped outside a door. One of them opened a small hole in it and said in a stern voice:

“Creed, if he attacks us, you're dead.” 

They heard a laugh from inside and opened the door. Charles wheeled inside and the door was shut behind him. He quickly looked around and was shocked by what he saw. A big man with way too long claws was sitting on one of the beds. He was flipping through a magazine about cars, smirking. In the corner of the room, Remy was curled up against the wall. There was blood on his clothes and in his hair. He had visible bruises around his wrists and throat. 

“Remy.” 

Black and red eyes looked up at him and the cajun frowned. 

“Professor? Why are you here?” 

Xavier started moving his chair closer to the boy when an angry growl stopped him. Remy turned to the feral with anger in his eyes. 

“Victor, stop it.” 

Creed turned his head to him. 

“You already ready for round two?” 

They stared at each other for almost an entire minute, before Remy looked away and let loose a string of curses in a mix of French and English along with a few that Charles didn't recognize. Creed raised his eyebrows and slowly stood up. He walked over to a closet and pulled out a pair of sweatpants along with a t-shirt. He threw them on the floor in front of Remy and smirked when he noticed the cajuns confused eyes. 

“Change. And wash your hair. The bathroom is there. Don't close the door.” 

Remy gave him a furious glare and didn't move. Creed sighed. 

“Listen, cajun. Either you do what I say or I'll rip your clothes off and personally bathe you. There is no way I'm letting you get into bed with all that blood on you. So start moving because we both know that you are in no condition to fight me right now. And it will take a few hours before you are fully healed.” 

Remy have him another furious glare, before he slowly uncurled from his position. Charles noticed with horror that there was a long gash running down his leg, which was covered with blood. There were even more wounds on his chest. His right ankle was swollen. Very slowly, using the wall as support, he managed to stand up. But taking an actual step was a whole different thing. He seemed to not be entirely sure which foot to put out first. In the end he decided on the wounded one. But putting his entire weight on a twisted ankle wasn't as easy as he thought and he fell to the ground with a gasp. Charles was going to say something, when he heard another growl. Hearing it, Remy glanced over to him and shook his head. He stood up again and tried with the other foot first. It worked until he had to put weight back onto the twisted ankle. Once again, he fell. Charles saw the conflicting emotions on his face, before the boy turned to the feral. 

“Can you help?”

And, seeing Creed's triumphant face, Charles understood that this had been the plan all along. The feral walked over to him and quickly lifted him up, bridal style. Remy closed his eyes and the shame was rolling off him in waves that made Charles wonder how he was dealing with it. 


	16. He Was Scared

Peter looked around the cell with fear that he had been hiding before. Jean was asleep on one of the beds and the speedster was finally letting his real emotions out. He was scared. Scared that his father would do something stupid. Scared that something would happen to Nina. Scared that they would hurt one of his friends. To be honest, the only person he wasn’t worried about was Remy. He knew that the cajun could take anything Stryker would lash out at him. His thoughts strayed away to Ororo. He had started developing feelings for the storm mutant. There was something different about her. Something that drew him to her. He remembered the one girl he had been together with when he was younger. She had been so slow. And, once he told her that he was a mutant, she had left him. But Ororo was different. Special. She didn’t judge him. She didn’t have any problems with his speed. She even thought that it was fun and interesting. And he had felt drawn towards her the first time he saw her. On that battlefield. He was a bit sad that she was against them. And then she turned against the Apocalypse and he had been in awe. She had so much power. So much beauty. He stopped dead in his tracks when he realized that maybe his feelings for Ororo were a bit stronger than he had thought from the beginning. He jumped slightly when he heard Jean’s quiet voice. 

“Peter?” 

He turned to her and nodded. She hesitated for a moment, before she asked: 

“Can you lay down with me? I… I’m scared.” 

That statement shocked him. He had seen the Phoenix. He had seen what Jean could do. Why was she scared? But then he realized. She wasn’t scared for her. She was scared for what would happen with the others. Slowly, he laid down on the bed next to her, and hugged her. She twisted around a bit and hid her face in his t-shirt. Peter pulled her close and forced himself to stay still to let her fall asleep calmly. 

                                                       ********

Erik woke up with a start. For a long moment, he was completely confused. There was something wrong, but he couldn’t quite place his finger on it. He sat up and noticed, to his surprise, that he was on the floor. How did he end up on the floor? He reached out to the metal around him and was hit with a feeling of dejavu. He couldn’t feel anything around him. But he could feel something on him. His hand came up to his throat. A collar. And he remembered Remy’s words. ‘It’s special made collars from the island of Genosha. They block mutations.’ He had been put in a collar. And there was no way of getting out of it. He dragged himself over to the bed and leaned his back against it. He was worthless now. He had failed. There was no way he would be able to save his son now. And he remembered how Peter had tried to explain to him that it wasn’t as easy as fighting his way out of there. Especially now that they had taken Peter away from him. ‘Charles? Can you hear me?’ For a few minutes, it was quiet and he thought that maybe Charles was put in a collar too. But then he got an answer. ‘Yes? Are you alright, Erik?’ He smiled softly. ‘Yeah. I’m fine. But they put me in a collar. And they took Peter away. Can you check where he is?’ Around two minutes later, Charles came back to him with a calming response. ‘He’s with Jean. They are both alright.’ But his voice sounded so worried, that Erik frowned. ‘What is it?’ ‘Remy.’ And he sent a picture of Remy in the corner, over to him. Erik felt worry. Yeah, the cajun was irritating. But he was still young. And he was Peter’s friend. He had protected Peter when they were younger. He had saved Nina and protected her through the entire war. He had to come up with a way to get them out. He had to. ‘Erik. Stop. Peter is right. You can’t punch your way out of here. We have to be smart about this. Let me talk to Remy. He has been here before. Maybe he can get us out. But I need you to calm down and not stick your head out too much. You need to be there for your children once this is all over. They will need you. Alive.’ He sighed and leaned more heavily against the bed. Maybe Charles was right. Maybe he had to take it easy for some time. 

                                                    **************

Raven was getting more and more restless. She didn’t know what time of day or night it was. She had tried to reach out to Charles, but nothing had happened. And she didn’t know why. Had they put him in a collar? Or was she in a cell that his telepathy couldn’t get into? She sighed. She was worried about her friend. And she was worried about Peter. The boy had PTSD. Being captured in this place couldn’t be good for him. Especially if he had been moved to a solitary cell too. If he was still with Erik, the man would protect him. But if he was alone, it could get dangerous. She had seen the strength he had used when he punched Remy. And the mutant seemed to have some kind of healing factor that helped him get through it. Normal humans were more fragile. If they did anything that triggered him, he could seriously hurt someone. Maybe even fatally. And she knew that he would never forgive himself something like that. She looked around. There were no visible cameras but she was sure that they were watching her. 

                                                 ****************

Ororo couldn’t sleep. Scott was snoring quietly on the other bed, but that was not what was keeping her up. She was overthinking. Again. She had been in bad situations before. Of course she had. But this was completely different. There was no easy way out of here. And now that the professor had been taken away from them, she was starting to lose faith. She had tried to act happy. She had to fake it for Scott. He was nervous. She could see it clearly. It had taken him over an hour to finally fall asleep. Her thoughts wandered over to the others. She had seen Erik at his lowest. When he thought that he had lost everything. And it was scary. If he went full on Magneto on those soldiers, they would all be in trouble. And Peter… She had started to get feelings for the boy. He was the first person to fully accept her after the fight. He didn’t judge her and that made her spend much time with him. And, as far as she knew, she was one of the very few people who he felt comfortable talking about everything to. And she had started to fall for him. But there was no way he liked her. Peter moved too quickly to stop and think about being in love. He had told her that much himself. She sighed and laid down on the bed. She would have to try to fall asleep. She couldn’t let herself be tired if they had to  fight later.

                                                      **************

Remy turned slightly where he was on the bed. Victor’s arm was around him, making sure that he stayed. But he couldn’t sleep. Not this time. There were too many anxious feelings in the same room and even Creed’s feral calm couldn’t help him. He managed to turn enough so that he was facing Charles. 

“Are you alright, professor?” 

He was still in his chair and looked quite uncomfortable. Very gently, Remy moved Victor’s arm out of the way and got out of the bed. Victor made a protesting sound, but didn’t wake up. Remy smiled. He wasn’t a thief for nothing. He was proud that he could sneak around a feral. 

“I’ll help you over to the bed.” 

Charles looked at him with worry. 

“Your leg.” 

Remy smiled softly and pulled the sweatpants down. Charles’ eyes widened when he noticed that there was no wound. Just a thin scar. The cajun pulled his pants back up. 

“I have some kind of a healing factor. Not as strong as a ferals. But it does the job. Literally saved my life a few times.” 

He walked over to the other man and leaned down. 

“Hold on.” 

And, before Charles could protest, he put one arm under his knees and the other around his back and lifted him up. The professor was shocked. He had seen how beaten up the cajun had been. Healing factor or not, he should not be able to lift another man’s weight without any problems. Meanwhile, Remy was concentrating on not falling down. He had overestimated his powers. His ankle hadn’t healed fully yet but there was no way that he would show any weakness. He got to the bed and gently put Charles on it. But, on the way up again, he swayed and almost fell over. His natural instincts kicked in and he managed to stay upright. Charles looked at him with worry. 

“Remy? Are you…”

“Oui.” 

He sat down on the bed and sighed. 

“You do realize that we are in lots of trouble, right?” 

Charles nodded slowly. 

“Yes. Especially now that they moved everyone to different cells.” 

That grabbed Remy’s attention. 

“Where were they moved?” 

“Peter was moved to Jean. Raven is alone. Erik too. And… Erik got himself put in one of those collars.” 

Remy groaned. 

“Great. Anyone else?” 

Charles frowned slightly. 

“I’m not sure. I can’t reach Raven anymore. But I don’t know why.” 

Before Remy could answer, they both heard an angry growl. They turned towards the other bed and were met with Victor’s glare. 

“If you aren’t back in bed in the next three seconds, I’ll make sure you can’t leave it for the next week.” 

Remy shot up from where he was sitting, swayed and then dashed over to the other bed. Creed smirked as he put his arm back around him and made sure to grab his wrist in his hand. His claws dug into the skin and Remy winced slightly. This was not going to be as easy as he thought it would be. Even though Charles provided him with some kind of stability, the feral was too unpredictable. As he slowly faded off to sleep, his thoughts wandered over to Nina. At least she was safe. 


	17. Clarity

Peter was slowly going crazy. He had stayed still for around five hours, to let Jean sleep, and it was driving him insane. Just seconds before he snapped, the girl opened her eyes. 

“Peter. You’re thinking very loudly. You don’t have to stay here, you know. You can get up.” 

He gave her an apologizing look, before he jumped out of the bed and did a few laps around the room. Then he flopped down onto the other bed and sighed. His leg was bouncing and his fingers were just a blur where they were tapping against his leg. Jean sat up and sighed. 

“I’m sorry. I’m not sure what came over me yesterday.” 

He shook his head. 

“No. It’s fine. I understand. There is nothing wrong with being scared. I’m sure everyone else is too.” 

“Are you?” 

Her question caught him off guard. He frowned as he thought about it. Was he scared? 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m scared. But not for me. I know that if they open those doors, I could get out of here without anyone being able to catch me. But I would never do that. My family is here. I couldn’t leave them here with Stryker.” 

Jean tilted her head. 

“I’m sure Erik will be alright. He is tough.” 

Peter smiled softly and shook his head. 

“It’s not just about dad. Remy. Raven. Ororo. You. Everyone. I get attached very easily. You’re all my family. And I’m not going to leave you here. Not when I know what happens in this place.” 

Jean leaned forwards. 

“You know from Remy?” 

He nodded. 

“Yeah. He was here when he was younger. He managed to escape, but he was never the same again. It’s almost as if a part of him was ripped out and killed here. He went through things that are unimaginable. It took me time to get him to tell me what happened here. And even then, he left all the worst things out. I’m worried about what will be left of him this time. If there will be anything left at all. And the others too. I mean, Raven is really tough. She will get through this. But Scott, Ororo, you. None of you have been in this situation before. Heck, I haven’t been in this situation before. I’m scared about what will be left of us after we get out.” 

She seemed to hesitate, before she asked quietly: 

“Do you think we’ll get out?” 

He looked at her and almost lied when he saw her eyes. But then he decided to be honest. 

“I don’t know.” 

 

                                                                        ******

 

Erik couldn’t sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw a picture of Remy. Beaten and bloody. He didn’t even know when he had started to care for the cajun, but seeing him like that had made something in his mind change. From what he had gathered from the way Stryker had talked to Remy, the cajun had been here before. And he had seemed a bit too calm about the shocks in the walls. Almost as if it was a normal, everyday thing. Almost as if he had been used to it. How long had he been here? What had Stryker and his men done to him? His thoughts drifted over to Peter. His son had been so calm when they came to take him away. He had kept his cool even when Erik himself had been nervous. He thought back to Pentagon and realized suddenly that, if Peter wanted to, he could have escaped already. It would take much to stop him and even more to catch him. Which meant that Peter had stayed willingly. But why? Why hadn’t he ran away? ‘Charles?’ ‘Yes, Erik?’ He hesitated. ‘I know that it’s not easy for you to get into Peter’s head, but could you try to contact him? There is something I don’t understand.’ ‘And what is that?’ Charles sounded almost tired and Erik started worrying about what had happened to his friend. ‘I’m alright, Erik. I’m just getting overwhelmed by Creed, the feral. His thoughts are all over the place. Almost as if he knew what to do to keep telepaths confused. But what is it you don’t understand?’ His explanation worried Erik, but he decided to let it go for now. ‘Why haven’t Peter tried to escape? I mean, he could easily just run out of here. He could get free and there is no way they would be able to stop him, unless they managed to put one of those collars on him.’ He heard Charles sigh in his head. ‘It’s not that hard to figure it out, Erik. Peter worries that if he escapes, we will be punished for it. He knows that they can’t stop him. But they can hurt us. And he would never risk that. Now try to calm down. I think Creed is waking up, which means that Remy should be up soon too. He fell asleep two hours ago. I don’t know what’s going on with him, but I think that Creed is doing some sort of psychological mind game on him. I’ll contact you when I know some more.’ And he quieted. Erik closed his eyes with a sigh. That made sense. From what he had gathered about his son, the boy seemed to always blame himself when someone got hurt. If he thought that they would get punished for his escape, there was no way he would try it. 

 

                                                                       *****

 

Raven slept through the entire night. She had been in more dangerous places and situations and there was very little that would unnerve her enough to stop her from sleeping. When she woke up, she noticed that her room was colder than it had been before. She looked around. There was no good reason as to why it was colder, so she shrugged it off. Maybe she was just making things up. She stood up from the bed and stretched. Once again, she tried to contact Charles but there was no answer. Slowly, she started to worry. Had something happened to him? Had he been hurt. Been put in a collar? And how were the others? She didn’t worry about Erik. No, he could take care of himself. So could Hank. And Remy. But the others. She sat down heavily on the bed again and closed her eyes. She was worried. And that was a feeling she did not like. 

 

                                                                        ******

 

Scott sat up with a gasp. On the next bed, Ororo woke up quickly and looked over to him. There were tears falling from under his glasses. She stood up quickly, walked over to his bed, and sat down next to him. 

“Scott? What’s wrong?” 

He shook his head. She frowned, before moving closer and hugging him. For a moment, he tried to get away. But then he relaxed and let her hold him. A few minutes later, he started talking. 

“I saw Alex. He told me that it was alright. That everything would turn out well. And then he just disappeared.”

Ororo didn’t know what to say. She had heard about Scott’s brother dying when the mansion had exploded. But she didn’t know anything about him. So she just held the crying boy and hoped that things would get better. 

 

                                                                        *****

 

Hank was sitting on his bed, watching Kurt sleep. He himself couldn’t sleep. He was too nervous. He didn’t want to contact Charles yet. The telepath probably had enough on his head as it was. He sighed. Kurt seemed to be calm in his sleep and he was not going to disturb that. The young mutant had been nervous before, but managed to go to sleep after they had finished praying. He thought about the others. Raven would be able to take care of herself. So would Erik, Peter, Charles and Remy. Jean too. She was calm enough to know how to act. She would not get into trouble. But he was worried about Scott. The boy had a short fuse. And with Alex being dead, he would easily blow up. With a sigh, he let his thoughts drift away to his latest experiment. 

 

                                                                    *******

 

Charles glanced over to the other bed. Creed had woken up and was looking down at the boy with an unreadable look on his face. He lifted his hand where his claws were still in Remy’s wrist. Very gently, he pulled them out and put Remy’s hand down again. Charles fels surprise at how gentle the feral was. He tried to get into his head, but was quickly thrown out again. Creed looked up at him. 

“Don’t try. Living with Mister Sinister made me quite good in keeping my thoughts to myself.” 

Charles’ eyes widened. 

“Mister Sinister?” 

The feral nodded. 

“Yeah. Remy found me and convinced me to join.” 

And, seeing the shock on Charles’ face, he smirked. 

“You didn’t know about that, did you? Remy served Sinister. He was one of the best. His moral code was almost non existent. I mean, even the others were sometimes surprised by what he was ready to do. But the tunnels seemed to change something about him.” 

The telepath was still shocked, but he decided to keep asking while the feral seemed to be in a good mood. 

“What tunnels?” 

Of course, he knew some of it from the dream, but he still wanted to know more. He was slowly starting to understand why no one wanted to talk about Remy when he had called around. And he understood why Raven had tried to ask him out about his past. Then he remembered that Raven had talked quite much with Remy. Had he told her? Did she know? Meanwhile, the feral had started to talk. 

“Remy was supposed to lead us down to the Morlock tunnels. He didn’t know what we were going to do there, so he agreed. But, by then, he was trying to get out. I don’t know what happened with him, but he was changing his mind. He took us down there and figured out what we were going to do when I killed one of the Morlocks. He tried to fight us but I slashed him up to make sure that he wouldn’t be able to get in our way anymore.” 

“You left me to die.” 

Both men looked at Remy, whose odd eyes were glaring at the feral. 

“Let me up.” 

To Charles surprise, Creed moved to the side so that Remy could quickly roll out of the bed. He stretched and walked over to Charles bed. 

“Are you ready, professeur?” 

Charles frowned but, before he could answer, the cajun leaned forward and picked him up. He walked over to the wheelchair and put him down. He opened his mouth to say something but right then, there was a bang on the door. 

“Creed. Keep an eye on the cajun.” 

Remy glanced over to Creed and frowned. 

“Victor?” 

The feral sighed and pointed towards the corner that was furthest away from the door. Without a word, Remy walked over there and put his hands flat against the wall, with his back turned towards the door. Seconds later, it opened and five men walked inside. One of them was Stryker. Charles glanced over to the feral. To his surprise, he noticed that the man was tense. Before anyone said anything, he heard the ferals thoughts loud and clear. ‘Whatever happens, stand back. Don’t worry about Remy. They won’t touch him.’ He glanced into the ferals eyes and noticed, to his shock, that there was something in them that wasn’t there the day before. Clarity. 

 


End file.
